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THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
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THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
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N  30 '985 

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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/incidentsoftrave02step_0 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL 


YUCATAN. 


BY  JOHN  L.  STEPHENS, 

AUTHOR  OF  "incidents  OF  TRAVEL  IN  EGYPT,   ARABIA   PETR^A,   AND  THK 
HOLY  LAND,"  "INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA,  CHIAPAS, 
AND  YUCATAN,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  120  ENGRAVINGS. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 

VOL.  11. 


N  E  W  -  Y  0  R  K  :  ><^CffAPEt  V^t^ 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-STREET. 


184  3. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


CONTENTS 

OF 

THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  1. 

Departure  from  Nohcacab. — Outfit. — Rancho  of  Chack. — Fright 
of  the  Women. — Rancho  of  Schawill.—Casa  Real. — Scarcity 
of  Water. — Visit  from  the  Alcalde. — Primitive  Mode  of  obtain- 
ing Water. — A  peculiar  People. — Ruins  of  Zayi. — Great  tree- 
covered  Mound. — The  Casa  Grande. — Fortunate  Discovery. — 
Staircase. — Doorways,  &c. — Buildings  on  the  second  Terrace. 
— Doorways. — Curiously  ornamented  Columns. — Building  on 
Vae  third  Terrace. — Doorways,  Apartments,  &c. — Stone  Lin- 
tels,— Fagade  of  the  second  Ran^e  of  Buildings. — Ground  Plan 
of  the  three  Ranges. — The  Casa  Cerrada. — Doorways  filled  up 
inside  with  Stone  and  Mortar. — Finished  Apartments,  also  filled 
up. — This  fining  up  simultaneous  with  the  Erection  of  the  Build- 
ing.—A  Mound. — Ruined  Building. —  Its  Interior. —  Sculptured 
Head,  &c. — A  strange  Structure. — An  Archway. — Perpendicu- 
lar Wall. — Stuccoed  Figures  and  Ornaments. — Great  Terrace 
and  Building. — Apartments,  &c. — Want  of  Interest  manifested 
by  the  Indians  in  regard  to  these  Ruins       .       .      .  Page  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

Visit  to  a  ruined  Building  near  Chack. — A  Field  of  Taj e.— Descrip- 
tion of  the  Building.-— Hornet's  Nest.— Young  Vulture.— Pictu- 
resque View  from  the  Terrace.— Well  of  Chack.— Exploration 
of  its  Passages.— Return  to  the  Rancho.— Departure  from  Scha- 
will.— The  Camino  Real.— Rancho  of  Sennacte.— Wild  Appear- 
ance of  the  Indians. — Continued  Scarcity  of  Water. — Another 
ruined  City. — Two  ruined  Buildings. — Apartments,  Columns, 
&c.— High  Wall.— Journey  continued.— Rancho  of  Sabachshe. 


9/ 7. 2^ 


iv 


CONTENTS. 


— Casa  Real. — Well. — Hut  of  the  Alcalde. — The  Seriora. — Ruins 
of  Sabachshe. — Picturesque  Edifice. — Alacrity  of  the  Indians. — 
Fagade. — Pilasters,  Cornices,  &c. — Encounter  with  an  Iguana. — 
Another  Ruined  Building.  —  The  Agave  Americana.  —  More 
Ruins. — The  Red  Hand. — The  Red  Hand  used  as  a  Symbol  by 
the  North  American  Indians. — Conclusions  to  be  deduced  from 
this  Circumstance. — Delicate  Manner  of  doing  a  Service 

Page  29 

CHAPTER  III. 

Ruins  of  Labna. — Accounts  of  the  Indians  not  to  be  relied  on. — 
Irretrievable  Ruin.  —  Extraordinary  Structure.  —  Doorways.  — 
Chambers. — Gigantic  Wall,  covered  with  Designs  in  Stucco. — 
Death's  Heads. —  Human  Figures  in  Alto  Relievo. —  Colossal 
Figure  seated. — Large  Ball  and  Figures. — Dilapidated  State  of 
this  Structure. — An  arched  Gateway. — Other  Buildings. — Rich- 
ly ornamented  Doorway. — Courtyard. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. 
— Large  Building. —  Magnificent  Edifice. —  Fa9ade  ornamented 
with  sculptured  Stone. — Circular  Hole  leading  to  a  subterra- 
nean Chamber. — The  Ramon  Tree. — A  Cave. — Conversati(7n 
with  the  Indians. — A  Ride  to  the  Hacienda  of  Tabi.  —  Sculp- 
tured Ornament. — Other  Figures. — Visit  to  a  Cave. — Tree-en- 
cumbered Path. — A  Vaquero. — Descent  into  the  Cave.— Fan- 
ciful Scene. — Return  to  the  Rancho. — A  Warm  Bath       .  49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Search. for  Ruined  Cities  continued. — Journey  the  Rancho  of 
Kewick. — Ruined  Building. — Lose  the  Road. — Set  right  by  an 
Indian. — Arrival  at  Kewick. — The  Casa  Real. — Visit  from  the 
Proprietor  of  the  Rancho,  a  full-blooded  Indian. — His  Charac- 
ter.— Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Garrapatas.— Old  Walls.— Facades. — 
Imposing  Scene  of  Ruins. — Principai  Doorway. — Apartments. 
— Curious  Painting. — Excavating  a  Stone. — A  long  Building. — 
Other  Ruins. — Continued  Scarcity  of  Water. — Visit  to  a  Cave, 
called  by  the  Indians  Actum. — A  wild  Scene. — An  Aguada. — 
Return  to  the  Casa  Real. — A  Crisis  in  Money  Matters. — Jour- 
ney to  Xul.— Entry  into  the  Village. — The  Convent.— Recep- 
tion.—  The  Cura  of  Xul. —  His  Character. —  Mingling  of  Old 
Things  with  New. — The  Church. — A  Levee. — A  Welcome  Ar- 
rival  66 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  V. 

Journey  to  the  Rancho  of  Nohcacab. — A  Fountain  and  Seybo 
Tree. — Arrival  at  the  Rancho. — Its  Appearance. — A  sick  Trio. 
— Effects  of  a  good  Breakfast. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Terrace 
and  Buildings. — Three  other  Buildings. — Character  of  these 
Ruins. — Disappointment. — Return  to  Xul. — Visit  to  another  ru- 
ined City. — Ruined  Building. — An  Arch,  plastered  and  covered 
with  Painted  Figures. — Other  Paintings. — Subterranean  Well. 
— Return  to  the  Village. — Journey  to  Ticul. — Large  Mounds. — 
Passage  of  the  Sierra. — Grand  View. — Arrival  at  Ticul. — A  Vil- 
lage Festival.  —  Ball  of  the  Mestizas. —  Costumes.  —  Dance  of 
the  Toros. — Lassoing  Cattle.— Ball  by  Dayhght. — The  Fiscales. 
— Ludicrous  Scene. — A  Dance. — Love  in  a  Phrensy. — A  unique 
Breakfast.— Close  of  the  Ball     .      .      ,      .      .  Page  86 

CHAPTER  VI 

Bull-fights. — Horse-race. — Bull-fighters. — Their  villanous  Appear- 
ance.— Death  of  a  Bull. — A  Ball  of  Etiquette. — Society  in  Yu- 
catan.— Costumes  at  the  Ball. — More  Bull-fights.— A  Mestiza. 
— Scenes  in  the  Bull-ring. — A  Storm. — Dispersion  of  the  Spec- 
tators.— A  Discovery. — A  new  Reformation  in  Yucatan. — Celi- 
bacy of  Priests. — A  few  Words  about  the  Padres. — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Catherwood  and  Dr.  Cabot. — Rain. — Daguerreotyping. — "The 
Ancient  Chronology  of  Yucatan." — Don  Pio  Perez. — Calendar 
of  the  Ancient  Indians. — Substantially  the  same  with  that  of  the 
Mexicans. — This  Fact  tends  to  show  the  common  Origin  of  the 
aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico    .      .  .109 

CHAPTER  VH. 

Return  to  Nohcacab. — Final  Departure  from  this  Village. — An 
Indian  Sexton. — Route. — "  Old  Walls," — Ruins  of  Sacbey. — 
Paved  Road. — Journey  continued. — Ruins  of  Xampon. — Impo- 
sing Edifice. — "  Old  Walls,"  called  by  Indians  Xlapphak. — 
Ruins  of  Hiokowitz  and  Kuepak. — Zekilna. — Altar  for  burning 
Copal. — Ancient  Terrace. — Lofty  stone  Structure. — Remains  of 
a  Building. — Sculptured  Stones. — Platform. — Rancho  of  Chun- 
huhu. — Become  involuntary  Masters  of  a  Hut. — Its  interior  Ar- 
rangements.— Scarcity  of  Water. — Pressing  Wants. — Visit  to 
the  Ruins. — Two  Buildings. — Fa(;ade. — Ornamented  Doorways. 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


—Welcome  Visiters.— Another  Building.— Plastered  Front.— 
A  Building  seen  from  the  Terrace.— Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  School- 
hoke. — Large  stone  Structure. — Ranges  of  Buildings. — Circu- 
lar Stone.— Ruined  Edifice.— Representations  of  Human  Fig- 
ures.— Return  to  the  Rancho. — Benefits  of  a  Rain    .  Page  121 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Journey  to  Bolonchen.  —Bad  Road.  —  Large  Hacienda.  —  Impo- 
sing Gateway. — An  inhospitable  Host. — Ruins  of  Ytsimpte. — 
Ruined  Edifice.  —  Staircase  with  sculptured  Stones.  —  Square 
Building.  —  Fa§ade  decorated  with  Pillars.  —Ruined  Walls.— 
Remains  of  a  sculptured  Figure. — Character  and  Aspect  of 
the  Ruins. — Departure. — Arrival  at  the  Village  of  Bolonchen. 
— Scene  of  Contentment. — Wells. — Derivation  of  the  Word  Bo- 
lonchen.— Origin  of  the  Wells  unknown. — The  Cura. — Visit  to 
an  extraordinary  Cave. — Entrance  to  it. — Precipitous  Descents. 
— A  wild  Scene. — Rude  Ladders. — Dangers  of  the  Descent. — 
Indian  Name  of  this  Cave. — A  subterranean  Ball-room. — Cav- 
ernous Chamber. — Numerous  Passages.  —  Great  Number  of 
Ladders. — Rocky  Basin  of  Water. — Great  Depth  of  the  Cave. 
— A  Bath  in  the  Basin. — Its  Indian  Name. — Return  to  the 
Rocky  Chamber. — Exploration  of  another  Passage. — Another 
Basin. —  Indian  Stories. — Two  other  Passages  and  Basins. — 
Seven  Basins  in  all. — Indian  Names  of  the  remaining  five. — 
Want  of  Philosophical  Instruments.  —  Surface  of  the  Country. 
— This  Cave  the  sole  Watering-place  of  a  large  Indian  Village. 
— Return. — Visit  to  the  Cura. — Report  of  more  Ruins      .  137 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Departure  from  Bolonchen. — Lose  the  Road. — Sugar  Rancho. — A 
new  Section  of  Country. — Rancho  of  Santa  Rosa. — Annoy- 
ance from  Fleas. — Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Labphak. — A  lofty 
Structure. — Apartments,  &c. — Staircases. — Doorways. — Inter- 
esting Discovery.— Courtyard. — Square  Building  on  the  second 
Terrace. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Oblong  Building  on  the  third 
Terrace. — Colossal  Figures  and  Ornaments. — Centre  Apart- 
ment.— Tokens  of  recent  Occupation. — Ground  Plan  of  the  low- 
er Range  of  Apartments. — Sculptured  Bas-reliefs. — Builders 
adapted  their  Style  to  the  Materials  at  Hand. — Abode  at  the 


COISTENTS. 


vn 


Ruins.  —  Wants.  —  Moonlight  Scene.  —  Painting.  —  Circular 
Holes. — Range  of  Buildings. — Staircases. — Ornaments  in  Stuc- 
co.— Rain. — Love  of  the  Marvellous  .      .      .      .  Page  157 

CHAPTER  X. 

Departure  from  Labphak. — Sugar  Ranchos. — Hacienda  of  Jalasac. 
— Cultivation  of  Sugar. — Another  Rancho. — Its  neat  Appear- 
ance.— Senor  Trego's  Establishment. — A  Well. — Seybo  Trees. 
— Journey  resumed. — Village  of  Iturbide. — Its  Settlement  and 
rapid  Growth. — An  Acquaintance. — Oppressive  Attentions. — 
Lunar  Rainbow. — Appearance  of  the  Village. — Mound  of  Ru- 
ins.— Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Zibilnocac. — A  Well. — A  long  Edi- 
fice.— Lazy  Escort. — An  anxious  Host.  —Return  to  the  Village. 
— A  prosperous  Emigrant. — A  Dinner. — Medical  Practice. — De- 
plorable Condition  of  the  Country  in  regard  to  Medical  Aid. — 
Second  Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Front  of  an  Edifice. — Square  Struct- 
ures.— Interesting  Painting. — An  ancient  Well. — Mounds. — 
Vestiges  of  a  great  City  170 

CHAPTER  XL 

End  of  Journey  in  this  Direction. — Lake  of  Peten. — Probable  Ex- 
istence of  Ruins  in  the  Wilderness. — Islands  in  the  Lake  of  Pe- 
ten.— Peten  Grande. — Mission  of  two  Monks. — Great  Idol  of  the 
Figure  of  a  Horse. — Broken  by  the  Monks,  who  in  Consequence 
are  obliged  to  leave  the  Island. — Second  Mission  of  the  Monks. 
— Sent  away  by  the  Indians. — Expedition  of  Don  Martin  Ursua. 
— ^Arrival  at  the  Island. — Attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  are  de- 
feated.— Don  Martin  takes  Possession  of  Itza. — Temples  and 
Idols  of  the  Indians. — Destroyed  by  the  Spaniards. — Flight  of 
the  Indians  into  the  Wilderness.— Preparations. — Illness  of  Mr. 
Catherwood.— Effects  of  Gambling.— From  the  Church  to  the 
Gaming-talble. — How  People  Live  at  Iturbide. — Departure. — 
Rancho  of  Noyaxche        .      .      .      .      .      .  .191 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Journey  resumed.— An  Aguada.— The  Aguadas  artificial,  and  built 
by  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants. — Examination  of  one  by  Seiior 
Trego. — Its  Construction. — Ancient  Wells. —  Pits.— -A  Sugar 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


Rancho. — Rancho  of  'Y-a-Walthel. — Rancho  of  Choop. — Arri- 
val at  Macoba. — The  Ruins. — Lodgings  in  a  miserable  Hut. — 
Wells. —  Ruined  Buildings. — Another  Aguada. — Pits.— Aston- 
ishment of  the  Indians. — Falling  in  Love  at  first  Sight. — Inter- 
esting Characters. — Departure. — Thick  Undergrowth. — Rancho 
of  Puut. — An  Incident. — Situation  of  the  Rancho. — Water. — 
Ruins  of  Mankeesh   Page  208 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Rancho  of  Jalal. — Picturesque  Aguada. — Excavations  made  in  it 
by  the  Indians.  —  System  of  Aguadas.  —  Journey  resumed.  — 
Lose  the  Road. — An  Effort  in  the  Maya  Language. — Grove  of 
Orange  Trees. — Ruins  of  Yakatzib. — Dilapidated  Edifice. — Sto- 
ny Sierra.  — Village  of  Becanchen. —  Hospitality. — Sculptured 
Stones.  —  Wells.  —  Running  Stream  of  Water. — J)erivation  of 
the  Word  Becanchen. — Rapid  Growth  of  the  Village. — Source 
of  the  Water  of  the  Wells. — Accident  to  an  Indian. — The  Par- 
ty separate. — Aguadas. — A  Trogon. — Hacienda  of  Zaccacal. — 
Visit  to  the  Ruins.  —  Stone  Terrace.  —  Circular  Hole.  —  Two 
Buildings. — Garrapatas. — Black  Ants. — Return  .       .      .  224 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Village  of  San  Jose. — Thatched  Church. — The  Cura. — A  refrac- 
tory Indian. — Attachment  of  the  Indians. — Journey  to  Mani. — 
The  Sierra. — Hacienda  of  Santa  Maria. — A  ruined  Mound. — 
Good  Road. — Arrival  at  the  City  of  Tekax. — A  bloodless  Rev- 
olution.— Situation  and  Appearance  of  the  City. — An  interest- 
ing Meeting. — Curiosity  of  the  People. — Akil. — The  Site  of  a 
ruined  City. — Sculptured  Stones. — Journey  resumed. — Arrival 
at  Mani. — Historical  Notice. — Tutul  Xiu. — Embassy  to  the 
Lords  of  Zotuta.— Ambassadors  murdered. — Mani  the  first  inte- 
rior Town  that  submitted  to  the  Spaniards. — Scanty  Supply  of 
Water  throughout  the  Country. — Important  ConsilQeration. — A 
touching  Discovery  239 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Buying  a  Wardrobe. — Crowd  of  Loungers. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — 
A  long  Edifice  built  by  the  Spaniards. — Interesting  Well. — In- 
dian Legend. — The  Mother  of  the  Dwarf. — Exploration  of  the 


CONTENTS. 


ix 


Well. — Remains  of  large  Mounds. — Cogolludo. — Ancient  and 
curious  Painting. — Books  and  ancient  Characters  of  the  Indians 
burned  by  the  Spaniards. — Archives  of  Mani. — Important  Doc- 
uments.— Ancient  Map. — Instrument  endorsed  on  its  Back.  — 
Important  Bearing  of  these  Documents. — What  was  Uxmal  1 — 
Argument. —  No  Vestiges  of  a  Spanish  Town  at  Uxmal. — 
Churches  erected  by  the  Spaniards  in  all  their  Settlements. — 
No  Indications  of  a  Church  at  Uxmal. — Conclusions. — Suspi- 
cions of  the  People. — Church  and  Convent. — Extensive  View 
from  the  Top  of  the  Church  Page  257 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Departure  from  Mani. — Ornithology  of  Yucatan. — Discoveries  of 
Doctor  Cabot. — Village  of  Tixmeach. — Peto. — Church  and  Con- 
vent.— News  from  Home. — Don  Pio  Perez. — Indian  Almanac. 
— A  Fragment  of  Maya  Manuscript. — Journey  resumed. — 
Taihxiu. — Yaxcala. — Piste. — Arrival  at  Chichen. — First  Sight 
of  the  Ruins. — The  Hacienda. — A  strange  Reception. — Lodg- 
ings.— Situation  of  the  Ruins. — Mr.  Burke.—Magnificent  Ap- 
pearance of  the  Ruins. — Derivation  of  the  Word  Chichen. — Se- 
notes. — Different  from  those  before  presented. — Mischievous 
Boys. — Failure  of  the  Corn  Crop       .....  275 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

Plan  of  the  Ruins. — An  Edifice  called  Akatzeeb. — Doorways. — 
Apartments. — Circular  Mass  of  Masonry. — Mysterious  Cham- 
ber.— Sculptured  Stone  Tablet. — Majestic  Pile  of  Building  call- 
ed the  Monjas. — Hieroglyphics. — Rich  Ornaments, — Doorways, 
Chambers,  &c. — Remains  of  Painting. — The  Eglesia,  or  Church. 
— Ornaments  on  the  Facade. — Cartouches  in  Plaster. — Circular 
Edifice  called  the  Caracol. — Apartment. — Staircase,  having  on 
each  Side  entwined  Serpents. — Gigantic  Head. — Doorways. — 
Paintings. — Building  called  Chichanchob. — Ornaments. — Row 
of  Hieroglyphics. — Another  Building. — Vestiges  of  Mounds  and 
ruined  Buildings. — Extraordinary  Edifice,  to  which  the  Name 
Gymnasium  or  Tennis-court  is  given.— Ornamented  Columns. — 
Sculptured  Figures  in  Bas-rehef.— Massive  Stone  Rings,  with 
entwined  Serpents. — Indian  Sports. — Two  Ranges  of  Buildings. 
— Procession  of  Tigers. — Sculptured  Columns. — Figures  in  Bas- 


X 


CONTENTS. 


relief. —  Richly-carved  Lintel.  —  Paintings.  —  The  Castillo. — 
Staircase.  —  Colossal  Serpents'  Heads. — Doorways. — Carved 
Lintels. — Jambs  ornamented  with  Sculptured  Figures. — Corri- 
dors.— Apartments. — Square  Pillars,  covered  with  Sculptured 
Figures. — Rows  of  Columns. — Occupation  and  Abandonment  of 
Chichen  by  the  Spaniards. — First  Discovery  of  Chichen. — Se- 
notes  Page  290 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Departure  from  Chichen. — Village  of  Cawa. — Cuncunul. — Arrival 
at  Valladolid. — An  Accident. — Appearance  of  the  City. — Don 
Pedro  Baranda's  Cotton  Factory. — A  Countryman. — Mexican 
Revolution. — The  Indians  as  Soldiers. — Adventures  of  aDemo- 
nio. — Character  of  the  People. — Gamecocks. — Difficulty  of  ob- 
taining Information  in  regard  to  the  Route. — Departure  for  the 
Coast. — Party  of  Indians. — Village  of  Chemax. — Fate  of  Molas 
the  Pirate. — Discouraging  Accounts. — Plans  deranged. — The 
Convent. — The  Cura. — Population  of  the  Village. — Its  early 
History. — Ruins  of  Coba. — Indian  Sepulchre. — Relics. — A  Pen- 
knife found  in  the  Sepulchre  325 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Departure. — Journey  to  Yalahao. — Stony  Road. — Arrival  at  the 
Port.  —  The  Sea. — Appearance  of  the  Village.  —  Bridge. — 
Springs.  — Pirates. — Scarcity  of  Ramon.  —  The  Castillo.  —  Its 
Garrison. — Don  Vicente  Albino. — An  Incident. — Arrangements 
for  a  Voyage  down  the  Coast. — Embarcation. — The  Canoa  El 
Sol. — Objects  of  the  Voyage. — Point  Moscheto. — Point  Fran- 
ces.— An  Indian  Fisherman.— Cape  Catoche. — The  first  Land- 
ing-place of  the  Spaniards.  —  Island  of  Contoy.  —  Sea-birds. — 
Island  of  Mugeres. — Lafitte. — Harpooning  a  Turtle. — Different 
Kinds  of  Turtle. — Island  of  Kancune. — Point  of  Nesuc. — Sharks. 
— Moschetoes.  —  Bay  of  San  Miguel.  —  Island  of  Cozumel.  — 
Rancho  established  by  the  Pirate  Molas. — Don  Vicente  Albino. 
— Mr.  George  Fisher. — Piratical  Aspect  of  the  Island. — A  Well. 
— Plantation  of  Cotton. — Stroll  along  the  Shore      .      .  345 


CONTENTS. 


xi 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  crippled  Dog. — Island  of  Cozumel  known  to  the  Natives  by  the 
Name  of  Cuzamil. — Discovered  by  Juan  De  Grijalva. — Extracts 
from  the  Itinerary  of  his  Voyage. — Towers  seen  by  the  Span- 
iards.— An  ancient  Indian  Village. — Temples. — Idols  prostrated 
by  the  Spaniards. — Present  State  of  the  Island. — Overgrown 
with  Trees. — Terrace  and  Building. — Another  Building. — These 
Buildings  probably  the  Towers  seen  by  the  Spaniards. — Identi- 
cal with  those  on  the  Mainland. — Ruins  of  a  Spanish  Church. — 
Its  History  unknown. — Vanity  of  Human  Expectations. — Opin- 
ion of  the  old  Spanish  Writers. — Their  Belief  that  the  Cross  was 
found  among  the  Indians  as  a  Symbol  of  Christian  Worship. 
— The  "  Cozumel  Cross"  at  Merida. — Platform  in  Front  of  the 
Church. — Square  Pillars. — Once  supported  Crosses. — The  Coz- 
umel Cross  one  of  them. — The  Cross  never  recognised  by  the 
Indians  as  a  Symbol  of  Worship. — Rare  Birds. — A  Sudden 
Storm.--The  Canoa  in  a  Strait.— Fearful  Apprehensions 

Page  365 

CHAPTER  XXL 

Search  for  the  Canoa. — An  Iron-bound  Coast. — A  wild  Opening. 
— A  sheltered  Cove. — The  Canoa  found. — The  Account  of  the 
Patron. — A  Man  overboard. — Return. — Sea-shells. — Departure 
from  Cozumel.— Coast  of  Yucatan. — Square  Buildings. — First 
Sight  of  the  Castillo  of  Tuloom. — Rancho  of  Tancah. — Molas. — 
His  two  Sons. — Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Tuloom. — Buildings  seen 
on  the  Way.  —  Magnificent  Scenery. — The  Castillo. — Front 
View. — Grand  Staircase.  —  Columns.  —  Corridors, — The  Red 
Hand. — The  Wings  of  the  Castillo,  consisting  of  two  Ranges. 
— Devices  in  Stucco. — Flat  Roofs. — Back  View  of  the  Castillo. 
— A  Storm. — Sudden  Cha.nge  of  Feeling. — Ruined  Buildings. — 
Square  Terrace. — Picturesque  Sight. — I'ragments  of  Tablets. — 
Isolated  Building. — Curious  Figure. — Paintings. — Discovery  of 
the  City  Wall. — Its  good  Preservation. — Gateways. — Watch- 
towers. — Buildings. — Ceilings  constructed  on  a  new  Principle. 
—Onslaught  of  Moschetoes  382 


3di 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

Discovery  of  a  Building.— Two  others. — Description  of  the  first 
Building. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Columns. — Corridor. — Paint- 
ings.— Central  Chamber. — Altar. — Upper  Story. — Stone  Tab- 
lets.— Another  Building. — Mutilated  Figure. — Apartments. — Al- 
tar.— A  third  Building.— This  City  seen  by  the  early  Spanish 
Voyagers. — Continued  to  be  occupied  after  the  Conquest. — Ad- 
oratorios, — Accounts  of  ruined  Cities  in  the  Interior. — Return 
Voyage. — Sea-sickness. — Nesuc.  —  Kancune.  —  Ruined  Build- 
ings.— Island  of  Mugeres. — Sea-birds. — Appearance  of  the  Isl- 
and.— A  hideous  Funeral  Pile. — Ibises. — Lafitte. — Piratical  As- 
sociations.— Confession  of  a  Pirate. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — A 
lonely  Edifice.  —  Grand  Scene.  —  Corridors.  — Inscriptions. — 
Square  Building. — Account  of  Bernal  Dias. — Departure  from 
the  Island. — Catoche. — Yalahao. — Ancient  Mound. — El  Cuyo. 
— An  old  Acquaintance  in  Misfortune       .       .       .  Page  401 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Port  of  Silan. — Hospitality. — Breakfast. — Walk  along  the  Shore. 
— Flamingoes. — Shooting  Excursion  to  Punta  Arenas. — Wild 
Road.  —  Take  Possession  of  a  Hut.  —  Great  Variety  and  im- 
mense Numbers  of  Wild  Fowl.— Get  Stuck  in  the  Mud.— Fla- 
mingoes and  Spoonbills. — A  ludicrous  Adventure. — Dissection 
of  Birds. — Return  to  the  Port. — The  Quartel. — A  Catastrophe. 
— Departure. — Village  of  Silan. — Gigantic  Mound. — View  from 
its  Top. — Another  Mound. — Accounts  of  Herrera  and  CogoUu- 
do. — The  Grave  of  Lafitte. — Hospitality  of  the  Padres. — De- 
parture from  Silan. — Temax. — Church  and  Convent. — Izamal. 
— Fiesta  of  Santa  Cruz. — Appearance  of  the  City. — Mounds. — 
Colossal  Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Gigantic  Head. — Stupendous 
Mound. — Interior  Chambers. — Church  and  Convent. — Built  on 
an  ancient  Mound. — A  Legend. — A  Ball    ....  419 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Departure  for  Merida.  —  The  Road. —  Cacalchen. —  Hacienda  of 
Ake. — The  Ruins. — Great  Mound  called  the  Palace. — Immense 
Staircase. — Grand  Approach. — Columns. —  No  Remains  of  a 
Building  on  the  Mound. — Other  Mounds. — Interior  Chamber. — 


CONTENTS. 


Xlll 


A  Senote. — Rude  and  Massive  Character  of  these  Ruins. — End 
of  Journey  among  ruined  Cities. — Number  of  Cities  discovered. 
— Of  the  Builders  of  the  American  Cities. — Opinion. — Built  by 
the  Ancestors  of  the  present  Race  of  Indians. — Reply  to  Argu- 
ments urged  against  this  Belief. — Absence  of  Tradition. — Un- 
paralleled Circumstances  vrhich  attended  the  Conquest. — Un- 
scrupulous Policy  of  the  Spaniards. — Want  of  Tradition  not 
confined  to  Events  before  the  Conquest. — Nor  peculiar  to  Amer- 
ican Ruins.  —  Degeneracy  of  the  Indians. — Insufficiency  of 
these  Arguments. — Farewell  to  Ruins      .      .      .  Page  440 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Departure. — Arrival  at  Merida. — Old  Acquaintances. — Giraffes. — 
Aspect  of  the  Political  Horizon. — The  great  Question  of  the 
Revolution  undecided. — Nomination  of  Deputies  to  the  Mexican 
Congress. — Santa  Ana's  Ultimatum. — Dissensions. — Pitiable 
Condition  of  the  State. — Cause  of  the  Convulsions  of  the  South- 
ern Republics. — State  Rights. — Preparations  for  Departure  from 
the  Country. — Invasion  of  Yucatan. — Parting  with  Friends. — 
Embarcation  for  Havana.  —  Arrival  there. — A  Paseo. — The 
Tomb  of  Columbus. — Passage  Home. — Conclusion  456 

Vol.  II.— a 


ENGRAVINGS.   VOL.  II. 


1.  Fkontispiece.  page, 

2.  Front  of  the  Casa  Grande  at  Zayi   17 

3.  Fa§ade  of  the  farthest  Building  at  Zayi     ....  20 

4.  Ground  Plan  of  the  Casa  Grande   23 

5.  Terrace  and  Building   25 

6.  Terrace  and  Building   27 

7.  Ruined  Building   37 

8.  Building  at  Sabachshe       .......  42 

9.  Building  at  Sabachshe   44 

10.  Pyramidal  Mound  and  Building  at  Labni  ....  60 

11.  Arched  Gateway   54 

12.  Interior  Front  of  Gateway   55 

13.  Portion  of  a  Fagade   56 

14.  Casa  Real  of  Kewick   68 

15.  Doorway  at  Kewick   72 

16.  Curious  Painting   74 

17.  Front  of  a  Building   76 

18.  Building  at  Sacbey   122 

19.  Building  at  Xampon   124 

20.  Building  at  Chunhuhu   130 

21.  A  Doorway   131 

22.  A  Building   132 

23.  A  Building   134 

24.  Entrance  to  a  Cave  at  Bolonchen   147 

25.  Principal  Staircase  in  the  Cave   148 

26.  Section  of  the  Cave   .      .   150 

27.  A  grand  Structure   161 

28.  Ground  Plan     .      .      ,   163 

29.  Bas-reliefs   164 

30.  Building  at  Zibilnocac   188 

31.  An  Aguada   209 

32.  Building  at  Macoba   218 

33.  An  Aguada   225 

34.  System  of  Aguadas   227 

35.  Map  of  Mani   265 


xvi  ENGRAVINGS.     VOL.  II. 

Page, 

36.  Senote  at  Chichen   287 

37.  The  Akatzeeb   291 

38.  Sculptured  Stone  Tablet   292 

39.  End  Fa9ade  of  the  Monjas   293 

40.  Front  of  the  Monjas   .      .      .      .      .      .      .  .294 

41.  The  Eglesia,  or  Church   296 

42.  The  Caracol,  a  Circular  Edifice   298 

43.  The  Casa  Colorada   300 

44.  Hieroglyphics   301 

45.  Picturesque  View                                             .      .  302 

46.  Gymnasium,  or  Tennis  Court   303 

47.  Sculptured  Entwined  Serpents  .      .      .      .      .      .  304 

48.  An  Edifice   308 

49.  Figures  in  Bas-relief   309 

50.  Paintings   311 

51.  The  Castillo   312 

52.  Staircase,  with  colossal  Serpents'  Heads   .      .      .  .313 

53.  Sculptured  Figure   314 

54.  An  Apartment   316 

55.  Rows  of  Columns  and  Castillo   319 

56.  PortofYalahao   347 

57.  Island  of  Cozumel   363 

58.  Square  Building   373 

59.  Front  View  of  the  Castillo  of  Tuloom   390 

60.  Back  View  of  the  Castillo   392 

61.  An  isolated  Edifice   393 

62.  Plan  of  the  City  Wall   396 

63.  A  Watch-tower   397 

64.  A  Building   402 

66.  A  Building   403 

H                    66.  An  Adoratorio   407 

67.  A  lonely  Edifice  .408 

68.  Immense  Mound       ........  428 

69.  Gigantic  Head   434 

70.  Mound  called  El  Palacio   441 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL 

IN 

YUCATAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Departure  from  Nohcacab. — Outfit. — Rancho  of  Chack.— Fright 
of  the  Women. — Rancho  of  Schawill. — Casa  Real. — Scarcity 
of  Water. — Visit  from  the  Alcalde. — Primitive  Mode  of  obtain- 
ing Water. — A  peculiar  People. — Ruins  of  Zayi. — Great  tree- 
covered  Mound. — The  Casa  Grande. — Fortunate  Discovery. — 
Staircase. — ^Doorways,  &c. — Buildings  on  the  second  Terrace. 
— Doorways. — Curiously  ornamented  Columns. — Building  on 
the  third  Terrace. — ^Doorways,  Apartments,  &c. — Stone  Lin- 
tels.— Fapade  of  the  second  Range  of  Buildings. — Ground  Plan 
of  the  three  Ranges. — The  Casa  Cerrada. — Doorways  filled  up 
inside  with  Stone  and  Mortar. — Finished  Apartments,  also  filled 
up. — This  filling  up  simultaneous  with  the  Erection  of  the  Build- 
ing.— A  Mound. — Ruined  Building, —  Its  Interior. —  Sculptured 
Head,  &c. — A  strange  Structure. — An  Archway. — Perpendicu- 
lar Wall. — Stuccoed  Figures  and  Ornaments. — Great  Terrace 
and  Building. — Apartments,  &c. — Want  of  Interest  manifested 
by  the  Indians  in  regard  to  these  Ruins. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  January  we  left  Nohca- 
cab. It  was  a  great  reUef  to  bid  farewell  to  this 
place,  and  the  only  regret  attending  our  departure 
was  the  reflection  that  we  should  be  obliged  to  re- 
turn. The  kindness  and  attentions  of  the  padreci- 
to  and  his  brother,  and,  indeed,  of  all  the  villagers, 
had  been  unremitted,  but  the  fatigue  of  riding  twelve 
miles  every  day  over  the  same  ground,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  procuring  Indians  to  work,  were  a  constant 

Vol.  IL— B 


10 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


source  of  annoyance  ;  besides  which,  we  had  a  feel- 
ing that  operated  during  the  whole  of  our  journey  : 
wherever  we  were  taken  ill  we  became  disgusted 
with  the  place,  and  were  anxious  to  leave  it. 

We  were  setting  out  on  a  tour  which,  according 
to  the  plan  laid  out,  embraced  a  circuit  of  ruins,  and 
required  us  to  revisit  Nohcacab,  although  our  return 
would  be  only  to  make  it  a  point  of  departure  in 
another  direction. 

In  consequence  of  this  plan  we  left  behind  all 
our  heavy  luggage,  and  carried  with  us  only  the  Da- 
guerreotype apparatus,  hammocks,  one  large  box  con- 
taining our  tin  table  service,  a  candlestick,  bread, 
chocolate,  coffee,  and  sugar,  and  a  few  changes  of 
clothing  in  pestaquillas.  Besides  Albino  and  Ber- 
naldo  we  had  a  puny  lad  of  about  fifteen,  named 
Barnaby,  a  much  smaller  pattern  than  either  of  the 
others,  and  all  three  together  were  hardly  equal  in 
bulk  to  one  fairly  developed  man. 

We  were  all  provided  with  good  horses  for  the 
road.  Mr.  Catherw^ood  had  one  on  which  he  could 
make  a  sketch  without  dismounting;  Dr.  Cabot  could 
shoot  from  the  back  of  his.  Mine  could,  on  an 
emergency,  be  pushed  into  a  hard  day's  journey  for 
a  preliminary  visit.  Albino  rode  a  hard-mouthed, 
wilful  beast,  which  shook  him  constantly  like  a  fit 
of  the  fever  and  ague,  and  which  we  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  the  trotter.  Bernaldo  asked  for  a 
horse,  because  Albino  had  one,  but,  instead  of  riding, 
he  had  to  put  a  strap  across  his  forehead  and  carry 
his  own  luggage  on  his  back. 


RANCHO    OF  CHACK. 


11 


We  were  about  entering  a  region  little  or  not  at 
all  frequented  by  white  men,  and  occupied  entirely 
by  Indians.  Our  road  lay  through  the  ruins  of  Ka- 
bah,  a  league  beyond  which  we  reached  the  rancho 
of  Chack.  This  was  a  large  habitation  of  Indians, 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  village  of  Nohcacab. 
There  was  not  a  white  man  in  the  place,  and  as  we 
rode  through,  the  women  snatched  up  their  children, 
and  ran  from  us  hke  startled  deer.  I  rode  up  to  a 
hut  into  which  I  saw  a  woman  enter,  and,  stopping 
at  the  fence,  merely  from  curiosity,  took  out  a  ci- 
gar, and,  making  use  of  some  of  the  few  Maya  words 
we  had  picked  up,  asked  for  a  light,  but  the  door  re- 
mained shut.  I  dismounted,  and  before  I  had  tied 
my  horse  the  women  rushed  out  and  disappeared 
among  the  bushes.  In  one  part  of  the  rancho  was 
a  casa  real,  being  a  long  thatched  hut  with  a  large 
square  before  it,  protected  by  an  arbour  of  leaves,  and 
on  one  side  was  a  magnificent  seybo  tree,  throwing 
its  shade  to  a  great  distance  round. 

On  leaving  this  rancho  we  saw  at  a  distance  on 
the  left  a  high  ruined  building  standing  alone  amid 
a  great  intervening  growth  of  woods,  and  apparent- 
ly inaccessible.  Beyond,  and  at  the  distance  of  four 
leagues  from  Nohcacab,  we  reached  the  rancho  of 
Schawill,  which  was  our  first  stopping-place,  on  ac- 
count of  the  ruius  of  Zayi  in  its  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. This  place  also  was  inhabited  exclusive- 
ly by  Indians,  rancho  being  the  name  given  to  a 
settlement  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  constitute 


12 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


a  village.  The  casa  real,  like  that  at  Chack,  was  a 
large  hut,  vs^ith  mud  vralls  and  a  thatched  roof.  It 
had  an  open  place  in  front  about  a  hundred  feet 
square,  enclosed  by  a  fence  made  of  poles,  and  sha- 
ded by  an  arbour  of  palm  leaves.  Around  the  hut 
were  large  seybo  trees.  The  casa  real  is  erected  in 
every  rancho  of  Indians  expressly  for  the  reception 
of  the  cura  on  his  occasional  or  perhaps  barely  pos- 
sible visits,  but  it  is  occupied  also  by  small  dealers 
from  the  villages,  v\^ho  sometimes  find  their  v^ay  to 
these  ranchos  lo  buy  up  hogs,  maize,  and  fowls. 
The  hut,  when  swept  out,  and  comparatively  clear 
of  fleas,  made  a  large  and  comfortable  apartment, 
and  furnished  ample  swinging  room  for  six  ham- 
mocks, being  the  number  requisite  for  our  whole  ret- 
inue. 

This  place  was  under  the  parochial  charge  of 
our  friend  the  cura  of  Ticul,  who,  however,  owing 
to  the  multiplicity  of  his  other  occupations,  had  vis- 
ited it  but  once.  The  padrecito  had  sent  notice 
of  our  coming,  and  had  charged  the  people  to  be  in 
readiness  to  receive  us.  Immediately  on  our  arri- 
val, therefore,  Indians  were  at  hand  to  procure  ra- 
mon  for  the  horses,  but  there  was  no  water.  The 
rancho  had  no  well,  and  was  entirely  dependant  on 
that  of  Chack,  three  miles  distant.  For  two  reals, 
however,  the  Indians  undertook  to  procure  us  four 
cantaros,  one  for  each  horse,  which  would  serve  for 
the  night.  In  the  evening  we  had  a  formal  visit  from 
the  alcalde  and  his  alguazils,  and  half  the  village  be- 
sides. 


MODE    OF    OBTAINING    WATER.  13 

Although  we  had  been  some  time  in  the  comitry, 
we  regarded  this  as  really  the  beginning  of  our  travels; 
and  though  the  scenes  we  had  met  with  already  were 
not  much  like  any  we  had  ever  encountered  before, 
our  first  day's  journey  introduced  us  to  some  that 
were  entirely  new.  The  Indians  assembled  under 
the  arbour,  where  they,  with  great  formality,  offered 
us  seats,  and  the  alcalde  told  us  that  the  rancho  was 
poor,  but  they  would  do  all  they  could  to  serve  us. 
Neither  he  nor  any  other  in  the  place  spoke  a  word 
of  Spanish,  and  our  communications  were  through 
Albino.  We  opened  the  interview  by  remonstra- 
ting against  the  charge  of  two  reals  for  watering  our 
horses,  but  the  excuse  was  satisfactory  enough.  In 
the  rainy  season  they  had  sources  of  supply  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  these  were  perhaps  as  primitive 
as  in  any  other  section  of  the  habitable  world,  being 
simply  deposites  of  rain-water  in  the  holes  and  hol- 
lows of  rocks,  which  were  called  sartenejas.  From 
the  rocky  nature  of  the  country,  these  are  very  nu- 
merous ;  during  the  rainy  season  they  are  replenish- 
ed as  fast  as  they  are  exhausted,  and  at  the  time  of 
our  visit,  owing  to  the  long  continuance  of  the  rains, 
they  furnished  a  sufficient  supply  for  domestic  use, 
but  the  people  were  not  able  to  keep  horses  or  cows, 
or  cattle  of  any  kind,  the  only  animals  they  had 
being  hogs.  In  the  dry  season  this  source  of  sup- 
ply failed  them;  the  holes  in  the  rocks  were  dry,  and 
they  were  obliged  to  send  to  the  rancho  of  Chack, 
the  well  of  which  they  represented  as  being  half  a 

2 


14 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL. 


mile  under  ground,  and  so  steep  that  it  was  reached 
only  by  descending  nine  different  staircases. 

This  account  saved  them  from  ail  imputation  of 
churlishness  in  not  giving  our  horses  water.  It 
seemed  strange  that  any  community  should  be  will- 
ing to  live  where  this  article  of  primary  necessity 
was  so  difficult  to  be  obtained,  and  we  asked  them 
why  they  did  not  break  up  their  settlement  and  go 
elsewhere  ;  but  this  idea  seemed  never  to  have  oc- 
curred to  them  ;  they  said  their  fathers  had  lived 
there  before  them,  and  the  land  around  was  good 
for  milpas.  In  fact,  they  were  a  peculiar  people, 
and  I  never  before  regretted  so  much  my  ignorance 
of  the  Maya  language.  They  are  under  the  civil 
jurisdiction  of  the  village  of  Nohcacab,  but  the  right 
of  soil  is  their  own  by  inheritance.  They  consider 
themselves  better  off  than  in  the  villages,  where  the 
people  are  subject  to  certain  municipal  regulations 
and  duties,  or  than  on  the  haciendas,  where  they 
would  be  under  the  control  of  masters. 

Their  community  consists  of  a  hundred  labra- 
dores,  or  working  men  ;  their  lands  are  held  and 
wrought  in  common,  and  the  products  are  shared  by 
all.  Their  food  is  prepared  at  one  hut,  and  every 
family  sends  for  its  portion,  which  explained  a  sin- 
gular spectacle  we  had  seen  on  our  arrival ;  a  pro- 
cession of  women  and  children,  each  carrying  an 
earthen  bowl  containing  a  quantity  of  smoking  hot 
broth,  all  coming  down  the  same  road,  and  disper- 
sing among  the  different  huts.    Every  member  be- 


A    PECULIAR  PEOPLE. 


15 


longing  to  the  community,  down  to  the  smallest 
pappoose,  contributed  in  turn  a  hog.  From  our  ig- 
norance of  the  language,  and  the  number  of  other 
and  more  pressing  matters  claiming  our  attention, 
we  could  not  learn  all  the  details  of  their  internal 
economy,  but  it  seemed  to  approximate  that  im- 
proved state  of  association  which  is  sometimes 
heard  of  among  us  ;  and  as  theirs  has  existed  for  an 
unknown  length  of  time,  and  can  no  longer  be 
considered  merely  experimental,  Owen  or  Fourier 
might  perhaps  take  lessons  from  them  with  advan- 
tage. 

They  differ  from  professed  reformers  in  one  im- 
portant particular — they  seek  no  converts.  No 
stranger  is  allowed,  upon  any  consideration,  to  enter 
their  community  ;  every  member  must  marry  within 
the  rancho,  and  no  such  thing  as  a  marriage  out  of 
it  had  ever  occurred.  They  said  it  was  impossible ; 
it  could  not  happen.  They  were  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  the  villages  to  attend  the  festivals  ;  and 
when  we  suggested  a  supposable  case  of  a  young 
man  or  woman  falling  in  love  with  some  village  In- 
dian, they  said  it  might  happen ;  there  was  no  law 
against  it ;  but  none  could  marry  out  of  the  rancho. 
This  was  a  thing  so  little  apprehended  that  the 
punishment  for  it  was  not  defined  in  their  penal 
code  ;  but  being  questioned,  after  some  consultation 
they  said  that  the  offender,  whether  man  or  woman, 
w^ould  be  expelled.  We  remarked  that  in  their 
small  community  constant  intermarriages  must  make 


16 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


them  all  relatives,  which  they  said  was  the  case 
since  the  reduction  of  their  numbers  by  the  cholera. 
They  were,  in  fact,  all  kinsfolk,  but  it  was  allow- 
able for  kinsfolk  to  marry  except  in  the  relationship 
of  brothers  and  sisters.  They  were  very  strict  in  at- 
tendance upon  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  and 
had  just  finished  the  celebration  of  the  carnival  two 
weeks  in  advance  of  the  regular  time ;  but  when 
we  corrected  their  chronology,  they  said  they  could 
celebrate  it  over  again. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  set  out  for  the  ruins  of 
Zayi,  or  Salli.  At  a  short  distance  from  the  rancho 
we  saw  in  an  overgrown  milpa  on  our  left  the  ruins 
of  a  mound  and  building,  so  far  destroyed  that  they 
are  not  worth  presenting. 

After  proceeding  a  mile  and  a  half  we  saw  at 
some  distance  before  us  a  great  tree-covered  mound, 
which  astonished  us  by  its  vast  dimensions,  and, 
but  for  our  Indian  assistants,  would  have  frightened 
us  by  the  size  of  the  trees  growing  upon  it.  The 
woods  commenced  from  the  roadside.  Our  guides 
cut  a  path,  and,  clearing  the  branches  overhead, 
we  followed  on  horseback,  dismounting  at  the  foot 
of  the  Casa  Grande.  It  was  by  this  name  that  the 
Indians  called  the  immense  pile  of  white  stone  build- 
ings, which,  buried  in  the  depths  of  a  great  forest, 
added  new  desolation  to  the  waste  by  which  they 
were  surrounded.  We  tied  our  horses,  and  worked 
our  way  along  the  front.  The  trees  were  so  close 
that  we  could  take  in  but  a  small  portion  of  it  at 


RUINS    OF    ZAYI.  CASA    GRANDE.  17 

once.  If  we  had  encountered  these  woods  at  Ka- 
bah,  where  we  had  such  difficulties  in  procuring  In- 
dians, we  should  have  despaired  of  being  able  to  ac- 
complish anything,  but,  fortunately  so  far,  where  our 
labours  were  great  we  had  at  hand  the  means  of 
performing  them. 

We  were  at  no  loss  what  to  do,  our  great  object 
now  being  to  economize  time.  Without  waiting  to 
explore  the  rest  of  the  ground,  we  set  the  Indians  at 
work,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  stillness  of  ages  was 
broken  by  the  sharp  ringing  of  the  axe  and  the 
crash  of  falling  trees.  With  a  strong  force  of  Indians, 
we  were  able,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  to  lay  bare 
the  whole  of  the  front. 

Dr.  Cabot  did  not  arrive  on  the  ground  till  late  in 
the  day,  and,  coming  upon  it  suddenly  from  the 
woods,  when  there  were  no  trees  to  obstruct  the 
view,  and  its  three  great  ranges  and  immense  pro- 
portions were  visible  at  once,  considered  it  the  grand- 
est spectacle  he  had  seen  in  the  country. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  this 
building.  The  view  was  taken  from  a  mound,  at 
the  distance  of  about  five  hundred  feet,  overgrow^n 
and  having  upon  it  a  ruined  edifice.  In  clearing 
away  the  trees  and  undergrowth  to  this  mound  we 
discovered  a  pila,  or  stone,  hollowed  out,  and  filled 
with  rain-water,  which  was  a  great  acquisition  to 
us  w^hile  working  at  these  ruins. 

The  plate  represents  so  much  of  the  building  as 
now^  remains  and  can  be  presented  in  a  drawing. 

Vol.  II.--C 


18 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL, 


It  has  three  stories  or  ranges,  and  in  the  centre  is  a 
grand  staircase  thirty-two  feet  wide,  rising  to  the 
platform  of  the  highest  terrace.  This  staircase, 
however,  is  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and,  in  fact,  a 
mere  mound,  and  all  that  part  of  the  building  on  the 
right  had  fallen,  and  was  so  dilapidated  that  no  in- 
telligible drawing  could  be  made  of  it ;  we  did  not 
even  clear  away  the  trees.  The  engraving  repre- 
sents all  that  part  which  remains,  being  the  half  of 
the  building  on  the  left  of  the  staircase. 

The  lowest  of  the  three  ranges  is  two  hundred 
and  sixty-five  feet  in  front  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  depth.  It  had  sixteen  doorways,  opening 
into  apartments  of  two  chambers  each.  The  whole 
front  wall  has  fallen ;  the  interiors  are  filled  with 
fragments  and  rubbish,  and  the  ground  in  front  was 
so  encumbered  with  the  branches  of  fallen  trees,  even 
after  they  had  been  chopped  into  pieces  and  beaten 
down  with  poles,  that,  at  the  distance  necessary  for 
making  a  drawing,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  inte- 
rior could  be  seen.  The  two  ends  of  this  range 
have  each  six  doorways,  and  the  rear  has  ten,  all 
opening  into  apartments,  but  in  general  they  are  in 
a  ruinous  condition. 

The  range  of  buildings  on  the  second  terrace  was 
two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length  and  sixty 
feet  in  depth,  and  had  four  doorways  on  each  side 
of  the  grand  staircase.  Those  on  the  left,  which 
are  all  that  remain,  have  two  columns  in  each  door- 
way, each  column  being  six  feet  six  inches  high, 


TERRACES    AND  BUILDINGS. 


21 


roughly  made,  with  square  capitals,  like  Doric,  but 
wanting  the  grandeur  pertaining  to  all  known  re- 
mains of  this  ancient  order.  Filling  up  the  spaces 
between  the  doorways  are  four  small  columns  cu- 
riously ornamented,  close  together,  and  sunk  in  the 
wall.  Between  the  first  and  second  and  third  and 
fourth  doorways  a  small  staircase  leads  to  the  ter- 
race of  the  third  range.  The  platform  of  this  ter- 
race is  thirty  feet  in  front  and  twenty-five  in  the  rear. 
The  building  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  by 
eighteen  feet  deep,  and  has  seven  doorways  opening 
into  a^many  apartments.  The  lintels  over  the  door- 
ways are  of  stone. 

The  exterior  of  the  third  and  highest  range  was 
plain  ;  that  of  the  two  other  ranges  had  been  elab- 
orately ornamented  ;  and,  in  order  to  giv^  some  idea 
of  their  character,  I  present  opposite  a  portion  of 
the  facade  of  the  second  range.  Among  designs 
common  in  other  places  is  the  figure  of  a  man  sup- 
porting himself  on  his  hands,  with  his  legs  expand- 
ed in  a  curious  rather  than  delicate  attitude,  of  which 
a  small  portion  appears  on  the  right  of  the  engra- 
ving ;  and  again  we  have  the  "  large  and  very  well 
constructed  buildings  of  lime  and  stone"  which 
Bernal  Dias  saw  at  Campeachy,  "with  figures  of 
serpents  and  of  idols  painted  on  the  walls." 

The  following  engraving  represents  the  ground 
plan  of  the  three  ranges,  and  gives  the  dimensions  of 
the  terraces.  The  platforms  are  wider  in  front  than 
in  the  rear ;  the  apartments  vary  from  twenty-three  to 


22 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


N 


Scale  of  Feat. 

60  40    go  20    Ip    0  50 

 S:  


ten  feet,  and  the  north  side  of  the  second  range  has 
a  curious  and  unaccountable  feature.  It  is  called  the 
Casa  Cerrada,  or  closed  house,  having  ten  door- 
ways, all  of  which  are  blocked  up  inside  with  stone 
and  mortar.  Like  the  well  at  Xcoch,  it  had  a  mys- 
terious reputation  in  the  village  of  NohcaQab,  and 
all  believed  that  it  contained  hidden  treasure.  In- 
deed, so  strong  was  this  belief,  that  the  alcalde  Se- 
gundo,  who  had  never  visited  these  ruins,  resolved 
to  take  advantage  of  our  presence  ;  and,  according 
to  agreement  in  the  village,  came  down  with*crow- 
bars  to  assist  us  in  breaking  into  the  closed  apart- 
ments and  discovering  the  precious  hoard.  The 
first  sight  of  these  closed-up  doorways  gave  us 
a  strong  desire  to  make  the  attempt;  but  on  mo- 
ving along  we  found  that  the  Indians  had  been 
beforehand  with  us.  In  front  of  several  were 
piles  of  stones,  which  they  had  worked  out  from 
the  doorways,  and  under  the  lintels  were  holes, 
through  which  we  were  able  to  crawl  inside  ;  and 


# 

THE    CASA  SERRADA. 


23 


here  we  found  ourselves  in  apartments  finished 
with  walls  and  ceilings  like  all  the  others,  hut  filled 
up  (except  so  far  as  they  had  been  emptied  by 
the  Indians)  with  sohd  masses  of  mortar  and  stone. 
There  were  ten  of  these  apartments  in  all,  220 
feet  long  and  ten  feet  deep,  which  being  thus 
filled  up,  made  the  whole  building  a  solid  mass; 
and  the  strangest  feature  was  that  the  filling  up  of 
the  apartments  must  have  been  simultaneous  with 
the  erection  of  the  buildings,  for,  as  the  filling-in 
rose  above  the  tops  of  the  doorways,  the  men  who 
performed  it  never  could  have  entered  to  their  work 
througli  the  doors.  It  must  have  been  done  as  the 
walls  were  built,  and  the  ceiling  must  have  closed 
over  a  solid  mass.  Why  this  was  so  constructed 
it  was  impossible  to  say,  unless  the  solid  mass  was 
required  for  the  support  of  the  upper  terrace  and 
building ;  and  if  this  was  the  case,  it  would  seem  to 
have  been  much  easier  to  erect  a  solid  structure  at 
once,  without  any  division  into  apartments. 

The  top  of  this  building  commanded  a  grand 
view,  no  longer  of  a  dead  plain,  but  of  undulating 
woodlands.  Toward  the  northwest,  crowning  the 
•  highest  hill,  was  a  lofty  mound,  covered  with  trees, 
which,  to  our  now  practised  eyes,  it  was  manifest 
shrouded  a  building,  either  existing  or  in  ruins.  The 
whole  intervening  space  was  thick  wood  and  under- 
brush, and  the  Indians  said  the  mound  was  inacces- 
sible. I  selected  three  of  the  best,  and  told  them 
that  we  must  reach  it ;  but  they  really  did  not  know 


24  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

how  to  make  the  attempt,  and  set  out  on  a  contin- 
uation of  the  road  by  which  we  had  reached  the 
ruins,  and  which  led  us  rather  from  than  to  the 
mound.  On  the  way  we  met  another  Indian,  who 
turned  back  with  us,  and  a  httle  beyond,  taking  his 
range,  he  cut  through  the  woods  to  another  path,  fol- 
lowing which  a  short  distance,  he  again  struck 
through  the  woods,  and,  all  cutting  together,  we 
reached  the  foot  of  a  stony  hill  covered  with  the 
gigantic  maguey,  or  Agave  Americana,  its  long 
thorny  points  piercing  and  tearing  all  that  touched 
them.  Climbing  up  this  hill  with  great  toil,  we 
reached  the  wall  of  a  terrace,  and,  climbing  this, 
found  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  the  building. 

It  was  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and  did  not  repay 
us  for  the  labour ;  but  over  the  door  was  a  sculp- 
tured head  with  a  face  of  good  expression  and  work- 
manship. In  one  of  the  apartments  was  a  high 
projection  running  along  the  wall ;  in  another  a 
raised  platform  about  a  foot  high ;  and  on  the  walls 
of  this  apartment  was  the  print  of  the  red  hand. 
The  doorway  commanded  an  extensive  view  of 
rolling  woodland,  which,  with  its  hvery  of  deep 
green,  ought  to  have  conveyed  a  sensation  of  glad-  • 
ness,  but,  perhaps  from  its  desolation  and  stillness,  it 
induced  rather  a  feeling  of  melancholy.  There  was 
but  one  opening  in  the  forest,  being  that  made  by 
us,  disclosing  the  Casa  Grande,  with  the  figures  of  a 
few  Indians  still  continuing  their  clearings  on  the 
top. 


REMARKABLE  STRUCTURE. 


25 


In  front  of  the  Casa  Grande,  at  the  distance  of  ^  < 

five  hundred  yards,  and  also  visible  from  the  top,  is 
another  structure,  strikingly  different  from  any  we 
had  seen,  more  strange  and  inexplicable,  and  having 
at  a  distance  the  appearance  of  a  Nev^^-England  fac- 
tory. 

The  engraving  which  follows  represents  this  build- 


ing. It  stands  on  a  terrace,  and  may  be  considered 
as  consisting  of  two  separate  structures,  one  above 
the  other.  The  lower  one,  in  its  general  features, 
resembled  all  the  rest.  It  was  forty  feet  front,  low, 
and  having  a  flat  roof,  and  in  the  centre  was  an 
Vol.  IL— D  3 


26 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


archway  running  through  the  building.  The  front 
is  fallen,  and  the  whole  so  rained  that  nothing 
but  the  archway  appears  in  the  engraving.  Along 
the  middle  of  the  roof,  unsupported,  and  entirely 
independent  of  everything  else,  rises  a  perpendic- 
ular wall  to  the  height  of  perhaps  thirty  feet.  It 
is  of  stone,  about  two  feet  thick,  and  has  oblong 
openings  through  it  about  four  feet  long  and  six 
inches  wide,  like  small  windows.  It  had  been  cov- 
ered with  stucco,  which  had  fallen  off,  and  left  the 
face  of  rough  stone  and  mortar  ;  and  on  the  other 
side  were  fragments  of  stuccoed  figures  and  orna- 
ments. An  Indian  appears  before  it  in  the  act  of 
killing  a  snake,  with  which  all  the  woods  of  Yuca- 
tan abound.  Since  we  began  our  exploration  of 
American  ruins  we  had  not  met  with  anything  more 
inexplicable  than  this  great  perpendicular  wall.  It 
seemed  built  merely  to  puzzle  posterity. 

These  were  the  only  buildings  in  this  immediate 
neighbourhood  which  had  survived  the  wasting  of 
the  elements  ;  but,  inquiring  among  the  Indians,  one 
of  them  undertook  to  guide  me  to  another,  which  he 
said  was  still  in  good  preservation.  Our  direction 
was  south-southw^est  from  the  Casa  Grande  ;  and  at 
the  distance  of  about  a  mile,  the  whole  intermediate 
region  being  desolate  and  overgrown,  we  reached  a 
terrace,  the  area  of  which  far  exceeded  anything  we 
had  seen  in  the  country.  We  crossed  it  from  north 
to  south,  and  in  this  direction  it  must  have  been  fif- 
teen hundred  feet  in  length,  and  probably  was  quite 


i 


GREAT    TERRACE    AND    BUILDING.  27 

as  much  in  the  other  direction ;  but  it  was  so  rough, 
broken,  and  overgrown,  that  we  did  not  attempt  to 
measure  it. 

On  this  great  platform  was  the  building  of  which 
the  Indian  had  told  us  ;  I  had  it  cleared,  and  Mr. 
Catherwood  drew  it  the  next  day,  as  it  appears  in 
the  engraving  opposite.  It  measures  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  feet  in  front,  and  eighty-four  feet 
deep,  and  contains  sixteen  apartments,  of  which 
those  in  front,  five  in  number,  are  best  preserved. 
That  in  the  centre  has  three  doorways.  It  is  twen- 
ty-seven feet  six  inches  long,  by  only  seven  feet  six 
inches  wide,  and  communicates  by  a  single  door- 
way with  a  back  room  eighteen  feet  long  and  five 
feet  six  inches  wide.  This  room  is  raised  two  feet 
six  inches  abov€  the  one  in  front,  and  has  steps  to 
ascend.  Along  the  bottom  of  the  front  room,  as 
high  as  the  sill  of  the  door,  is  a  row  of  small  col- 
umns, thirty- eight  in  number,  attached  to  the  wall. 

In  several  places  the  great  platform  is  strewed 
with  ruins,  and  probably  other  buildings  lie  buried  in 
the  woods,  but  without  guides  or  any  clew  whatev- 
er, we  did  not  attempt  to  look  for  them. 

Such,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  discover  them, 
are  the  ruins  of  Zayi,  the  name  of  which,  to  the 
time  of  our  visit,  had  never  been  uttered  among  civ- 
ilized men,  and,  but  for  the  notoriety  connected  with 
our  movements,  would  probably  be  unknown  at  this 
day  in  the  capital  of  Yucatan.  Our  first  accounts 
of  them  were  from  the  cura  Carillo,  who,  on  the 


28 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


occasion  of  his  only  visit  to  this  part  of  his  curacy, 
passed  a  great  portion  of  his  time  among  them. 

It  W3is  strange  and  almost  incredible  that,  with 
these  extraordinary  monuments  before  their  eyes, 
the  Indians  never  bestowed  upon  them  one  passing 
thought.  The  question,  who  built  them?  never  by 
any  accident  crossed  their  minds.  The  great  name 
of  Montezuma,  which  had  gone  beyond  them  to  the 
Indians  of  Honduras,  had  never  reached  their  ears, 
and  to  all  our  questions  we  received  the  same  dull 
answer  which  first  met  us  at  Copan,  "  Qui  en  sabe  V 
"  Who  knows  ]"  They  had  the  same  superstitious 
feelings  as  the  Indians  of  Uxmal ;  they  believed 
that  the  ancient  buildings  were  haunted,  and,  as  in 
the  remote  region  of  Santa  Cruz  del  Quiche,  they 
said  that  on  Good  Friday  of  every  year  music  was 
heard  sounding  among  the  ruins. 

There  was  but  one  thing  connected  with  the  old 
city  that  interested  them  at  all,  and  that  was  the 
subject  of  a  well.  They  supposed  that  somewhere 
among  these  ruins,  overgrown  and  lost,  existed  the 
fountain  which  had  supplied  the  ancient  inhabitants 
with  water ;  and,  beheving  that  by  the  use  of  our 
instruments  its  site  could  be  discovered,  they  offered 
to  cut  down  all  the  trees  throughout  the  whole  re- 
gion covered  by  the  rains. 


AFIELDOFTAH.  29 


CHAPTER  II. 

Visit  to  a  ruined  Building  near  Chack. — A  Field  of  Taje.^Descrip- 
tion  of  the  Building. — Hornet's  Nest. — Young  Vulture. — Pictu- 
resque View  from  the  Terrace. — Well  of  Chack.— Exploration 
of  its  Passages. — Return  to  the  Rancho. — Departure  from  Scha- 
will. — The  Camino  Real. — Rancho  of  Sennacte. — Wild  Appear- 
ance of  the  Indians. — Continued  Scarcity  of  Water. — Another 
ruined  City. — Two  ruined  Buildings. — Apartments,  Columns, 

^  &c. — High  Wall. — Journey  continued. — Rancho  of  Sabachshe. 
— CasaReal. — Well. — Hut  of  the  Alcaide. — The  Seiiora. — Ruins 
of  Sabachshe. — Picturesque  Edifice. — Alacrity  of  the  Indians. — 
Fagade. — Pilasters,  Cornices,  &c. — Encounter  with  an  Iguana. — 
Another  Ruined  Building.  —  The  Agave  Americana.  —  More 
Ruins. — The  Red  Hand. — The  Red  Hand  used  as  a  Symbol  by 
the  North  American  Indians. — Conclusions  to  be  deduced  from 
this  Circumstance. — Delicate  Manner  of  doing  a  Service. 

The  next  morning,  while  Mr.  Catherwood  was 
engaged  in  drawing  the  building  represented  in  the 
last  engraving,  Dr.  Cabot  and  myself  set  out  to  visit 
the  one  which  we  had  passed  in  coming  from  the 
rancho  of  Chack. 

In  the  suburbs  of  the  rancho  we  turned  off  to  the 
right  by  a  path,  which  we  followed  for  some  distance 
on  horseback,  when  it  changed  its  direction,  and 
we  dismounted.  From  this  place  onr  guides  cut  a 
path  through  the  woods,  and  we  came  out  upon  a 
large  field  of  taje,  being  long  stems  growing  close 
together,  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  straight,  and  about 
half  an  inch  thick,  having  a  yellow  flower  on  the 


30 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


top,  which  is  a  favourite  food  for  horses.  The  stems, 
tied  up  in  bundles  three  or  four  inches  thick,  are 
used  for  torches.  On  one  side  of  this  field  we  saw 
the  high  building  before  referred  to,  and  on  the  oth- 
er side  was  a  second  not  visible  before.  A  bird 
which  the  doctor  wished  to  procure  Ughted  on  a 
tree  growing  upon  the  latter,  and  we  went  to  it,  but 
found  nothing  of  particular  interest,  and  struck 
across  the  field  of  taje  for  the  former.  This  taje 
was  as  bad  as  the  woods  to  walk  through,  for  it 
grew  so  high  as  to  exclude  every  breath  of  air,  and 
was  not  high  enough  to  be  any  protection  against 
the  sun. 

The  building  stood  on  the  top  of  a  stony  hill,  on 
a  terrace  siill  firm  and  substantial.  It  consisted  of 
two  stories,  the  roof  of  the  lower  one  forming  the 
platform  in  front  of  the  upper,  and  had  a  staircase, 
which  was  broken  and  ruined.  The  upper  build- 
ing had  a  large  apartment  in  the  centre,  and  a  small- 
er one  on  each  side,  much  encumbered  with  rub- 
bish, from  one  of  which  we  were  driven  by  a  hor- 
net's nest,  and  in  another  a  young  vulture,  with  a 
hissing  noise,  flapped  its  plumeless  wings  and  hop- 
ped out  of  the  door. 

The  terrace  commanded  a  picturesque  view  of 
wooded  hills,  and  at  a  distance  the  Casa  Grande,  and 
the  high  wall  before  presented.  They  were  per- 
haps three  or  four  miles  distant.  All  the  interme- 
diate space  was  overgrow^n.  The  Indians  had  trav- 
ersed it  in  all  directions  in  the  dry  season,  when 


THE    WELL    OF  CHACK. 


31 


there  was  no  foliage  to  hide  the  view,  and  they  said 
that  in  all  this  space  there  were  no  vestiges  of  build- 
ings. Close  together  as  we  had  found  the  remains 
of  ancient  habitations,  it  seemed  hardly  possible  that 
distinct  and  independent  cities  had  existed  with  but 
such  a  little  space  between,  and  yet  it  was  harder 
to  imagine  that  one  city  had  embraced  within  its 
limits  these  distant  buildings,  the  extreme  ones  be- 
ing four  miles  apart,  and  that  the  whole  intermedi- 
ate region  of  desolation  had  once  swarmed  with  a 
teeming  and  active  population. 

Leaving  this,  we  toiled  back  to  our  horses,  and, 
returning  to  the  road,  passed  through  the  rancho, 
about  a  mile  beyond  which  we  reached  the  pozo,or 
well,  the  accounts  of  which  we  had  heard  on  our 
first  arrival. 

Near  the  mouth  were  some  noble  seybo  trees, 
throwing  their  great  branches  far  and  wide,  under 
which  groups  of  Indians  were  arranging  their  cala- 
bashes and  torches,  preparing  to  descend ;  others, 
just  out,  were  wiping  their  sweating  bodies.  At 
one  moment  an  Indian  disappeared,  and  at  the  next 
another  rose  up  out  of  the  earth.  We  noticed  that 
there  were  no  women,  who,  throughout  Yucatan, 
are  the  drawers  of  water,  and  always  seen  around  a 
well,  but  we  were  told  that  no  woman  ever  enters 
the  well  of  Chack  ;  all  the  water  for  the  rancho 
was  procured  by  the  men,  which  alone  indicated 
that  the  well  was  of  an  extraordinary  character. 
We  had  brought  with  us  a  ball  of  twine,  and  made 


32 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


immediate  preparations  to  descend,  reducing  our 
dress  as  near  as  possible  to  tiiat  of  the  Indians. 

Our  first  movement  w^as  down  a  hole  by  a  per- 
pendicular ladder,  at  the  foot  of  vs^hich  we  were  fair- 
ly entered  into  a  great  cavern.  Our  guides  prece- 
ded us  with  bundles  of  taje  hghted  for  torches,  and 
we  came  to  a  second  descent  almost  perpendicular, 
v^hicli  we  achieved  by  a  ladder  laid  flat  against  the 
rock.  Beyond  this  we  moved  on  a  short  distance, 
still  following  our  guides,  and  still  descending,  when 
we  saw  their  torches  disappearing,  and  reached  a 
wild  hole,  which  also  we  descended  bj^  a  long  rough 
ladder.  At  the  foot  of  this  the  rock  was  damp  and 
slippery,  and  there  was  barely  room  enough  to  pass 
around  it,  and  get  upon  another  ladder  down  the 
same  hole,  now  more  contracted,  and  so  small  that, 
wdth  the  arms  akimbo,  the  elbows  almost  touched 
on  each  side.  At  this  time  our  Indians  were  out  of 
sight ;  and  in  total  darkness,  feeling  our  way  by  the 
rounds  of  the  ladder,  we  cried  out  to  them,  and  were 
answered  by  distant  voices  directly  underneath. 
Looking  down,  we  saw  their  torches  Hke  moving 
balls  of  fire,  apparently  at  an  interminable  distance 
below  us. 

At  the  foot  of  this  ladder  there  was  a  mde  plat- 
form as  a  resting-place,  made  to  enable  those  as- 
cending and  descending  to  pass  each  other.  A 
group  of  naked  Indians,  panting  and  sw^eating  un- 
der the  load  of  their  calabashes,  were  waiting  till 
we  vacated  the  ladder  above  ;  and  even  in  this  wild 


DESCENT    INTO    THE    WELL.  33 

hole,  with  loads  on  their  backs,  straps  binding 
their  foreheads,  and  panting  from  fatigue  and  heat, 
they  held  down  their  torches,  and  rendered  obei- 
sance to  the  blood  of  the  white  man.  Descending 
the  next  ladder,  both  above  and  below  us  were 
torches  gleaming  in  the  darkness.  We  had  still  an- 
other ladder  to  descend,  and  the  whole  perpendicu- 
lar depth  of  this  hole  was  perhaps  two  hundred  feet. 

From  the  foot  of  this  ladder  there  was  an  open- 
ing to  the  right,  and  from  it  we  soon  entered  a  low, 
narrow  passage,  through  which  we  crawled  on  our 
hands  and  knees.  With  the  toil  and  the  smoke  of 
the  torches  the  heat  was  almost  beyond  endurance. 
The  passage  enlarged  and  again  contracted,  de- 
scending steeply,  and  so  low  that  the  shoulders  al- 
most touched  the  roof.  This  opened  upon  a  great 
chasm  at  one  side,  and  beyond  we  came  to  another 
perpendicular  hole,  which  we  descended  by  steps 
cut  in  the  rock.  From  this  there  was  another  low, 
crawling  passage,  and,  almost  stifled  with  heat  and 
smoke,  we  came  out  into  a  small  opening,  in  which 
was  a  basin  of  water,  being  the  well.  The  place 
was  crowded  with  Indians  filling  their  calabashes, 
and  they  started  at  the  sight  of  our  smoky  white  fa- 
ces as  if  El  Demonio  had  descended  among  them. 
It  was,  doubtless,  the  first  time  that  the  feet  of  a 
white  man  had  ever  reached  this  well. 

On  returning  we  measured  the  distance,  Doctor 
Cabot  going  before  with  a  line  of  about  a  hun- 
dred feet,  in  the  wild  and  broken  passages  being 

Vol.  II.— E 


34  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

soon  out  of  sight,  and  sometimes  out  of  hearing.  I 
followed,  with  an  Indian  winding  up  the  hne,  while 
I  made  notes.  I  had  two  Indians  with  long  bun- 
dles of  lighted  sticks,  who,  whenever  I  stopped  to 
write,  either  held  them  so  far  off  as  to  be  of  no  use, 
or  else  thrust  them  into  my  face,  bhnding  the  eyes 
with  smoke  and  scorching  the  skin.  I  was  dripping 
as  if  in  a  vapour-bath  ;  my  face  and  hands  were 
black  with  smoke  and  incrusted  with  dirt ;  large 
drops  of  sweat  fell  upon  my  book,  which,  with  the 
dirt  from  my  hands,  matted  the  leaves  together,  so 
that  my  notes  are  almost  useless.  They  were,  no 
doubt,  imperfect,  but  I  do  not  believe  that,  with  the 
most  accurate  details,  it  is  possible  to  convey  a  true 
idea  of  the  character  of  this  cave,  with  its  deep 
holes  and  passages  through  a  bed  of  solid  rock,  and 
the  strange  scene  presented  by  the  Indians,  with 
torches  and  calabashes,  unmurmuring  and  uncom- 
plaining, at  their  daily  task  of  seeking,  deep  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  one  of  the  great  elements  of 
Hfe. 

The  distance,  as  we  traversed  it,  with  its  ladders, 
ascents  and  descents,  winding  and  crawling  passa- 
ges, seemed  a  full  half  league,  as  represented  by  the 
Indians.  By  measurement  it  w^as  not  quite  fifteen 
hundred  feet,  which  is  about  equal  to  the  length  of 
the  Park  fronting  on  Broadway.  The  perpendicu- 
lar depth  to  the  water  I  am  not  able  to  give,  but 
some  idea  may  be  formed  of  these  passages  from 
the  fact  that  the  Indians  did  not  carry  their  cala- 


IMPORTANCE     OF    THIS    WELL.  35 

bashes  on  their  shoulders,  because,  with  the  body 
bent,  they  would  strike  against  the  roof  or  roll  over 
the  head ;  but  the  straps  across  the  forehead  were 
let  out  so  lono^  that  the  calabashes  rested  below  the 
hips,  and  in  crawling  on  the  hands  and  feet  their 
loads  did  not  rise  above  the  line  of  the  back. 

And  this  well  was  not,  as  ai  Xcoch,  the  occasional 
resort  of  a  straggling  Indian,  nor  the  mere  traditionary 
watering-place  of  an  ancient  city.  It  was  the  regular 
and  only  supply  of  a  living  population.  The  whole 
rancho  of  Chack  was  entirely  dependant  upon  it, 
and  in  the  dry  season  the  rancho  of  Schawill,  three 
miles  distant. 

The  patient  industry  of  such  a  people  may  well 
be  supposed  to  have  reared  the  immense  mounds 
and  the  great  stone  structures  scattered  all  over  the 
country.  We  consumed  a  calabash  of  water  in 
washing  and  quenching  our  thirst,  and  as  we  rode 
back  to  the  rancho  of  Schawill,  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  an  admission  into  the  community  of  this 
exclusive  people  was  no  great  privilege,  when  it 
would  entail  upon  the  appUcant,  for  six  months  in 
the  year,  a  daily  descent  into  this  subterraneous  well. 

We  arrived  at  the  rancho  in  good  season.  Mr. 
Catherwood  had  finished  his  drawing,  and  Bernaldo 
was  ready  with  his  dinner.  We  had  nothing  to  de- 
tain us,  ordered  carriers  forthwith  for  our  luggage, 
and  at  half  past  two  we  were  in  the  saddle  again  in 
search  of  ruined  cities. 

The  reader  has  some  idea  of  the  caminos  reales 


36 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


of  this  country,  and  they  were  all  like  Enghsh  turn- 
pikes compared  with  that  upon  which  we  entered  on 
leaving  this  rancho.  In  fact,  it  was  a  mere  path 
through  the  woods,  the  branches  of  the  trees  being 
trimmed  away  to  a  height  barely  sufficient  to  admit 
of  an  Indian  passing  under  with  a  load  of  maize 
on  his  back.  We  were  advised  that  it  would  be 
very  difficult  to  get  through  on  horseback,  and  were 
obliged  to  keep  dodging  the  head  and  bending  the 
body  to  avoid  the  branches,  and  at  times  we  were 
brought  to  a  stand  by  some  overhanging  arm  of  a 
tree,  and  obhged  to  dismount. 

At  the  distance  of  two  leagues  we  reached  the 
rancho  of  Sannacte,  the  Indians  of  which  were  the 
wildest  people  in  appearance  we  had  yet  seen.  As 
we  rode  through,  the  women  ran  away  and  hid 
themselves,  and  the  men  crouched  on  the  ground 
bareheaded,  with  long  black  hair  hanging  over  their 
eyes,  gazing  at  us  in  stupid  astonishment.  The 
same  scarcity  of  water  still  continued.  The  ran- 
cho was  entirely  destitute  ;  it  had  no  pozo  or  well  of 
any  kind,  either  ancient  or  modern,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants procured  their  whole  supply  from  the  village  of 
Sabachshe,  two  leagues,  or  six  miles,  distant!  This 
supply,  too,  was  brought  daily  on  the  backs  of  In- 
dians ;  but  again  in  this  arid  and  destitute  region 
was  still  another  evidence  of  ancient  population — 
another  desolate  and  ruined  city. 

Beyond  the  outskirts  of  the  rancho  was  a  large 
clearing  for  a  milpa,  within  which,  naked  and  ex- 


• 


RUINED    BUILDING.  37 

posed  to  full  view,  were  two  ancient  buildings.  The 
milpa  was  enclosed  by  a  fence,  and  was  overgrown 
with  taje.  We  tied  our  horses  to  the  stems  of  the 
taje,  and,  leaving  them  eating  the  flowers,  followed  a 
path  which  led  between  the  two  buildings.  The 
engraving  which  follows  represents  the  one  on  the 


left.  It  stands  on  a  terrace,  still  strong  and  sub- 
stantial, and,  fortunately,  clear  of  trees,  though  many 
were  growing  on  the  top.  It  has  five  apartments  ; 
the  facade  above  the  cornice  is  fallen,  and  between 
the  doorways  are  fragments  of  small  columns  set  in 
the  wall.    On  the  other  side  of  the  milpa  was  an- 

4 


• 


38  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

Other  edifice,  holding  aloft  a  high  wall,  like  that  we 
had  seen  at  Zaji,  extraordinary  in  its  appearance 
and  incomprehensible  in  its  uses  and  purposes. 
From  the  tact  and  facihty  w^e  had  now  acquired,  a 
short  time  sufficed  for  our  examination  of  this  place, 
and,  with  one  more  added  to  our  list  of  ruined  cit- 
ies, we  mounted,  and  resumed  our  journey. 

At  half  past  five  we  reached  the  rancho  of  Sa- 
bachshe,  lying  on  the  camino  real  from  Ticul  to 
Bolonchen,  and  inhabited  entirely  by  Indians.  The 
casa  real  stood  on  an  elevation  in  an  open  place ; 
it  was  thatched  with  palm  leaves,  had  mud  walls, 
and  an  arbour  before  it,  and  a  table  and  benches 
within.  Altogether,  it  was  better  in  appearance 
and  furniture  than  the  others  w^e  had  encountered, 
which,  as  w^e  afterward  learned,  was  owing  to 
the  circumstance  that,  besides  its  regular  uses,  it 
was  intended  for  the  residence  of  the  mistress  on 
her  annual  visits  to  the  rancho.  But  much  more 
interesting  and  important  was  the  fact,  that  this 
rancho  was  distinguished  by  a  well,  the  sight  of 
which  was  more  grateful  to  us  than  that  of  the 
best  hotel  to  the  traveller  in  a  civilized  country. 
We  were  scratched  with  thorns,  and  smarting  with 
garrapata  bites,  and  looked  forward  to  the  refresh- 
ment of  a  bath.  Very  soon  our  horses  had  the  ben- 
efit of  it,  the  bath  being  in  that  country,  where  the 
currycomb  and  brush  are  entirely  unknown,  the  only 
external  refreshment  these  animals  ever  get.  The 


•  HUTOFTHEALCALDE.  39 

well  was  built  by  the  present  owner,  and  formerly  the 
inhabitants  were  dependant  entirely  upon  the  well 
at  Tabi,  six  miles  distant !  Besides  its  real  value,  it 
presented  a  curious  and  lively  spectacle.  A  group 
of  Indian  women  was  around  it.  It  had  no  rope 
or  fixtures  of  any  kind  for  raising  water,  but  across 
the  mouth  was  a  round  beam  laid  upon  two  posts, 
over  which  the  women  were  letting  down  and  hoist- 
ing up  little  bark  buckets.  Every  woman  brought 
with  her  and  carried  away  her  own  bucket  and  rope, 
the  latter  coiled  up  and  laid  on  the  top  of  her  head, 
with  the  end  hanging  down  behind,  and  the  coil 
forming  a  sort  of  headdress. 

Near  the  well  was  the  hut  of  the  alcalde,  en- 
closed by  a  rude  fence,  and  within  were  dogs,  hogs, 
turkeys,  and  fowls,  which  all  barked,  grunted,  gob- 
bled, and  cackled  together  as  we  entered.  The  yard 
was  shaded  by  orange-trees  loaded  with  ripe  and 
unusually  large  fruit.  Under  one  of  them  was  a 
row  of  twenty  or  thirty  wild  boars'  jaws  and  tusks, 
trophies  of  the  chase,  and  memorials  attesting  the 
usefulness  of  the  barking  dogs.  The  noise  brought 
the  alcalde  to  the  door,  a  heavy  and  infirm  old  man, 
apparently  rich,  and  sufiering  from  the  high  living 
indicated  by  his  hogs  and  poultry  ;  but  he  received 
us  with  meekness  and  humility.  We  negotiated 
forthwith  for  the  purchase  of  some  oranges,  and 
bought  thirty  for  a  medio,  stipulating  that  they  should 
all  be  the  largest  and  best  on  the  trees;  after  which, 


40 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


supporting  himself  by  his  cane,  he  hobbled  on  to  the 
casa  real,  had  it  swept  out,  and  assigned  Indians  to 
attend  upon  us.  If  he  wanted  alacrity  himself,  he 
infused  it  into  his  people,  and  made  up  for  all  defi- 
ciencies by  unqualified  personal  deference  and  re- 
spect. It  was  a  fine  evening,  and  we  spread  our 
supper-table  under  the  arbour.  The  old  alcalde  re- 
mained with  us,  and  a  group  of  Indians  sat  on  the 
steps,  not  like  the  proud  and  independent  race  of 
Schawill,  but  acknowledging  themselves  criados,  or 
servants,  bound  to  obey  the  orders  of  their  mistress. 
La  senora  was,  in  their  eyes,  a  miniature  print  of 
Queen  Victoria,  but  skill  in  the  use  of  figures  may 
arrive  at  the  value  of  at  least  this  part  of  her  pos- 
sessions. There  were  fifty-five  labradores,  or  la- 
bouring men,  under  an  obligation  to  plant  and  har- 
vest ten  micates  of  maize  for  her  benefit.  Each 
micate  produces  ten  cargas,  or  loads,  making  in  all 
five  hundred  and  fifty,  which,  at  three  reals  per  car- 
ga,  gives  as  the  revenue  this  lady  comes  regularly  to 
collect,  about  two  hundred  dollars  per  annum ;  but 
this  gives  more  power  than  lands  or  money  to  any 
amount  in  our  country  could  give  ;  and  the  labra- 
dores being  all  free  and  independent  electors,  fifty- 
five  votes  could  always  be  calculated  upon  in  an 
emergency  for  the  side  of  principle  and  la  senora. 

Having  made  our  arrangements  for  the  next  day, 
we  went  into  the  hut  and  shut  the  door.  Some 
time  afterward  the  old  alcalde  sent  in  to  ask  permis- 
sion to  go  home,  as  he  was  very  sleepy^  which  we 


RUINS    OF  SABACHSHE. 


41 


graciously  granted,  and,  by  his  direction,  three  or 
four  Indians  swung  their  httle  hammocks  under  the 
arbour,  to  be  at  hand  in  case  we  should  need  any- 
thing. During  the  night  we  found  it  extremely  cold, 
and,  with  the  little  covering  we  had  brought,  could 
hardly  keep  ourselves  comfortable. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  found  a  large  gather- 
ing round  the  house  to  escort  us  to  the  ruins.  In 
the  suburbs  of  the  rancho  we  turned  off  to  the  left, 
and  passed  among  the  huts  of  the  Indians,  almost 
smothered  by  weeds,  and  having  at  the  doors  rude 
boxes  of  earth  set  up  on  posts,  for  vegetables  to 
grow  in  out  of  the  reach  of  the  hogs. 

Crossing  the  fence  of  the  last  hut,  we  entered  a 
thick  growth  of  trees.  As  if  instinctively,  every  In- 
dian drew  his  machete,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they 
cut  a  path  to  the  foot  of  a  small  building,  not  rich 
in  ornament,  but  tasteful,  having  some  shades  of  dif- 
ference from  any  we  had  seen,  overgrown  by  trees, 
and  beautifully  picturesque.  On  one  corner  of  the 
roof  a  vulture  had  built  her  nest,  and,  scared  away 
at  our  approach,  hovered  over  our  heads,  looking 
down  upon  us  as  if  amazed.  We  gave  directions, 
all  the  Indians  fell  to  work,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  small  terrace  in  front  was  cleared.  I  had  not 
expected  so  many  Indians,  and,  not  knowing  what 
occasion  I  might  have  for  their  services,  told  them 
that  I  did  not  need  so  great  a  number,  and  should 
only  pay  those  whom  I  had  engaged.  All  stopped, 
and  when  the  purport  of  my  words  was  explained 

Vol.  II.— F 


42 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


to  them,  said  that  made  no  difference ;  they  imme- 
diately set  to  work  again,  and  the  machete  fell  with 
a  rapidity  unparalleled  in  our  experience.  In  half 
an  hour  space  enough  was  cleared  for  Mr.  Cather- 
wood  to  set  up  his  camera  lucida.  The  same  alert- 
ness was  shown  in  preparing  a  place  for  him  to 
stand  in,  and  half  a  dozen  stood  ready  to  hold  an 
umbrella  for  his  protection  against  the  sun. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  the 
building.  Its  design  is  tasteful  and  even  elegant, 
and  when  perfect  it  must  have  presented  a  fine  ap- 
pearance. It  has  a  single  doorway,  opening  into  a 
chamber  twenty-five  feet  long  by  ten  w  ide.  Above 
the  door  is  a  portion  of  plain  masonry,  and  over 
this  a  cornice  supporting  twelve  small  pilasters,  hav- 
ing between  them  the  diamond  ornament,  then  a 
massive  cornice,  with  pilasters  and  diamond  work, 
surmounted  by  another  cornice,  making  in  all  four 
cornices ;  an  arrangement  we  had  not  previously 
met  with. 

While  Mr.  Catherwood  was  making  his  drawing, 
the  Indians  stood  around  under  the  shade  of  the 
trees,  looking  at  him  quietly  and  respectfully,  and 
making  observations  to  each  other.  They  were  a 
fine-looking  race.  Some  of  them,  one  tall  old  man 
particularly,  had  noble  Roman  faces,  and  they  seemed 
to  have  more  respectability  of  appearance  and  char- 
acter than  was  consistent  with  the  condition  of  men 
not  wearing  pantaloons.  All  at  once  an  enormous 
iguana,  or  hzard,  doubled  the  corner  of  the  building, 


ENCOUNTER    WITH    AN    IGUANA.  43 


ran  along  the  front,  and  plunged  into  a  crevice  over 
the  door,  burying  his  whole  body,  but  leaving  the  long 
tail  out.  Among  these  unsophisticated  people  this 
reptile  is  a  table  delicacy,  and  here  w^as  a  supper  pro- 
vided for  some  of  them.  Machetes  ^ew  out,  and,  cut- 
ting down  a  sapling  with  a  crotch  in  it,  they  rested  it 
against  the  wall,  and,  standing  in  the  crotch,  pulled 
upon  the  tail ;  but  the  animal  held  on  with  his  feet 
as  if  a  part  of  the  building.  All  Ae  Indians,  one 
after  the  other,  had  a  pull  at  the  tail,  but  could  not 
make  him  budge.  At  length  two  of  them  contrived 
to  get  hold  together,  and,  while  pulling  with  all  their 
strength,  the  tail  came  off  by  the  roots,  a  foot  and  a 
half  long  in  their  hands.  The  animal  was  now 
more  out  of  their  reach  than  before,  his  whole  body 
being  hidden  in  the  wall  ;  but  he  could  not  escape. 
The  Indians  picked  away  the  mortar  with  their 
machetes,  and  enlarged  the  hole  until  they  got  his 
hind  legs  clear,  when,  griping  the  body  above  the 
legs,  they  again  hauled  ;  but,  though  he  had  only 
the  fore  legs  to  hold  on  with,  they  could  not  tear  him 
out.  They  then  untied  the  ropes  of  their  sandals, 
and,  fastening  them  above  the  hind  legs,  and  pulling 
till  the  long  body  seemed  parting  like  the  tail,  they 
at  length  dragged  him  out.  They  secured  him  by 
a  gripe  under  the  fore  part  of  the  body,  cracked  his 
spine,  and  broke  the  bones  of  his  fore  legs  so  that 
he  could  not  run;  pried  his  jaws  open,  fasten- 
ed them  apart  wdth  a  sharp  stick  so  that  he  could 


44 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


not  bite,  and  then  put  him  away  in  the  shade.  This 
refined  crueUy  was  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  kilUng 
him  immediately,  for  if  killed,  in  that  hot  climate  he 
would  soon  be  unfit  for  food  ;  but,  mutilated  and 
mangled  as  he  was,  he  could  be  kept  alive  till  night. 

This  over,  we  moved  on  in  a  body,  carrying  the 
iguana,  to  the  next  building,  which  was  situated  in 
a  different  direction,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  dis- 
tant, and  compfetely  buried  in  woods.  It  was  sev- 
enty-five feet  long,  and  had  three  doorways,  leading 
to  the  same  number  of  apartments.  A  great  part  of 
the  front  had  fallen ;  the  plate  opposite  represents 
that  which  remains.  With  some  sHght  difference 
in  the  detail  of  ornament,  the  character  is  the  same 
as  in  all  the  other  buildings,  and  the  general  effect 
pleasing.  Growing  on  the  roof  are  two  maguey 
plants,  Agave  Americana,  in  our  latitude  called  the 
century  plant,  but  under  the  hot  sun  of  the  tropics 
blooming  every  four  or  five  years.  There  are  four 
species  of  this  plant  in  Yucatan  :  the  maguey,  from 
which  is  produced  the  pulque,  a  beverage  common 
in  all  the  Mexican  provinces,  which,  taken  in  ex- 
cess, produces  intoxication ;  the  henneken,  which 
produces  the  article  known  in  our  markets  as  Sisal 
hemp ;  the  sabila,  with  which  the  Indian  women 
wean  children,  covering  the  breast  with  the  leaf, 
which  is  very  bitter  to  the  taste  ;  and  the  peta,  hav- 
ing leaves  twice  as  large  as  the  last,  from  which  a 
very  fine  white  hemp  is  made.  These  plants,  in 
some  or  all  of  their  varieties,  were  found  in  the  neigh- 


MORE    RUINED  BUILDINGS. 


45 


bourliood  of  all  the  rains,  forming  around  them  a 
pointed  and  thorny  wall,  which  we  were  obliged  to 
cut  through  to  reach  the  buildings. 

While  Mr.  C.  was  engaged  in  drawing  this  struc- 
ture, the  Indians  told  us  of  two  others  half  a  league 
distant.  I  selected  two  of  them  for  guides,  and, 
with  the  same  alacrity  which  they  had  shown  in 
everything  else,  nine  volunteered  to  accompany  me. 
We  had  a  good  path  nearly  all  the  way,  until  the 
Indians  pointed  out  a  white  object  seen  indistinctly 
through  the  trees,  again  uttering,  with  strong  guttu- 
rals, the  famihar  sound  of  "Xlap-pahk,"  or  old  w^alls. 
In  a  few  minutes  they  cut  a  path  to  it.  The  build- 
ing was  larger  than  the  last,  having  the  front  orna- 
mented in  the  same  way,  much  fallen,  though  still 
presenting  an  interesting  spectacle.  As  it  was  not 
much  overgrown,  we  set  to  work  and  cleared  it, 
and  left  it  for  another,  in  regard  to  which  I  formed 
some  curious  expectations,  for  the  Indians  descri- 
bed it  as  very  new.  It  lay  on  the  same  path,  to  the 
left  in  returning  to  the  rancho,  and  separated  from 
us  by  a  great  field  of  taje,  through  which  we  were 
obliged  to  cut  a  path  for  several  hundred  yards  to 
the  foot  of  the  terrace.  The  walls  were  entire  and 
very  massive ;  but  climbing  up  it,  I  found  only  a 
small  building,  consisting  of  but  two  apartments,  the 
front  much  fallen,  and  the  doors  filled  up,  but  no 
sign  or  token  distinguishing  it  as  newei'  or  more 
modern ;  and  I  now  learned,  what  I  might  have  done 
before  by  a  Httle  asking,  that  all  they  meant  by  their 


46  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

description  of  it  was,  that  it  was  the  newest  known 
to  them,  having  been  discovered  but  twelve  jears 
before,  accidentally,  on  clearing  the  ground  for  a 
milpa,  until  which  time  it  was  as  much  unknown 
to  them  as  to  the  rest  of  the  w^orld.  This  intelli- 
gence gave  great  weight  to  the  consideration  which 
had  often  suggested  itself  before,  that  cities  may 
exist  equal  to  any  now  known,  buried  in  the  woods, 
overgrown  and  lost,  which  will  perhaps  never  be 
discovered. 

On  the  walls  of  this  desolate  edifice  were  prints 
of  the  "  mano  Colorado,"  or  red  hand.  Often  as  I 
saw  this  print,  it  never  failed  to  interest  me.  It  was 
the  stamp  of  the  Uving  hand  ;  it  always  brought  me 
nearer  to  the  builders  of  these  cities,  and  at  times, 
amid  stillness,  desolation,  and  ruin,  it  seemed  as  if 
from  behind  the  curtain  that  concealed  them  from 
view  was  extended  the  hand  of  greeting.  These 
prints  were  larger  than  any  I  had  seen.  In  several 
places  I  measured  them  with  my  own,  opening  the 
fingers  to  correspond  with  those  on  the  wall.  The 
Indians  said  it  was  the  hand  of  the  master  of  the 
building. 

The  mysterious  interest  which,  in  my  eyes,  always 
attached  to  this  red  hand,  has  assumed  a  more  defi- 
nite shape.  I  have  been  advised  that  fn  Mr.  Cat- 
lin's  collection  of  Indian  curiosities,  made  during  a 
long  residence  among  our  North  American  tribes, 
was  a  tent  presented  to  him  by  the  chief  of  the  pow- 
erful but  now  extinct  race  of  Mandans,  which  ex- 


THE    RED  HAND. 


47 


hibits,  among  other  marks,  two  prints  of  the  red 
hanxl ;  and  I  have  been  farther  advised  that  the  red 
hand  is  seen  constantly  upon  the  buffalo  robes  and 
skins  of  wild  animals  brought  in  by  the  hunters  on 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and,  in  fact,  that  it  is  a  sym- 
bol recognised  and  in  common  use  by  the  North 
American  Indians  of  the  present  day.  I  do  not 
mention  these  as  facts  within  my  own  knowledge, 
but  with  the  hope  of  attracting  the  attention  of  those 
who  have  opportunities  and  facilities  for  investiga- 
tion ;  and  I  suggest  the  interesting  consideration 
that,  if  true,  the  red  hand  on  the  tent  and  the  buffalo 
robes  points  back  from  the  wandering  tribes  in  our 
country  to  the  comparatively  polished  people  w^ho 
erected  the  great  cities  at  the  south  ;  and  if  true 
that  it  is  at  this  day  used  as  a  sign  or  symbol  by 
our  North  American  Indians,  its  meaning  can  be 
ascertained  from  living  witnesses,  and  through  ages 
of  intervening  darkness  a  ray  of  light  may  be  thrown 
back  upon  the  now  mysterious  and  incomprehensi- 
ble characters  which  perplex  the  stranger  on  the 
walls  of  the  desolate  southern  buildings. 

On  my  return  to  the  rancho  I  learned  the  cause 
of  the  extraordinary  attention  shown  us,  which, 
though  we  had  received  it  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  no  mdre  than  what,  for  some  unknown  reasons, 
was  justly  due  to  us,  had,  nevertheless,  somewhat 
surprised  us.  Our  movements  in  that  neighbour- 
hood were  matters  of  some  notoriety.  Albino's 
preliminary  visit  and  our  intentions  had  reached  the 


48 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ears  of  the  seiiora,  and  the  evening  before  our  arri- 
val orders  from  her  had  arrived  at  the  rancho  for  all 
the  Indians  to  put  themselves  at  our  command  ;  and 
this  delicate  manner  of  doing  us  a  service  is  one  of 
the  many  acts  of  kindness  I  have  to  acknowledge  to 
the  citizens  of  Yucatan.  The  old  alcalde  again 
waited  till  he  became  sleepy,  when  he  asked  per- 
mission to  go  to  his  hut,  and  four  or  five  Indians 
again  hung  up  their  hammocks  under  the  arbour. 


RUINS    OF  LABNA. 


49 


CHAPTER  III. 

Ruins  of  Labna. — Accounts  of  the  Indians  not  to  be  relied  on.— 
Irretrievable  Ruin.  — -  Extraordinary  Structure.  —  Doorways.  — 
Chambers. — Gigantic  Wall,  covered  with  Designs  in  Stucco. — 
Death's  Heads. —  Human  Figures  in  Alto  Relievo. —  Colossal 
Figure  seated. — Large  Ball  and  Figures. — Dilapidated  State  of 
this  Structure.— An  arched  Gateway. — Other  Buildings. — Rich- 
ly ornamented  Doorway.  — Courtyard. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. 
— Large  Building. — Magnificent  Edifice.— Fagade  ornamented 
with  sculptured  Stone. — Circular  Hole  leading  to  a  subterra- 
neous Chamber.— The  Ramon  Tree. — A  Cave. — Conversation 
with  the  Indians.— A  Ride  to  the  Hacienda  of  Tabi.  —  Sculp- 
tured Ornament. — Other  Figures. — Visit  to  a  Cave. — Tree-en- 
cumbered Path. — A  Vaquero. — Descent  into  the  Cave. — Fan- 
ciful Scene. — Return  to  the  Rancho. — A  Warm  Bath. 

The  next  morning  we  set  out  for  the  ruins  of 
Labna.  Our  road  lay  southeast,  among  hills,  and 
was  more  picturesque  than  any  we  had  seen  in  the 
country.  At  the  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  we 
reached  a  field  of  ruins,  which,  after  all  we  had  seen, 
created  in  us  new  feelings  of  astonishment.  It  was 
one  of  the  circumstances  attending  our  exploration  of 
ruins  in  this  country,  that  until  we  arrived  on  the 
ground  we  had  no  idea  of  what  we  were  to  meet 
with.  The  accounts  of  the  Indians  were  never  re- 
liable. When  they  gave  us  reason  to  expect  much 
we  found  but  little,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  when 
we  expected  but  little  a  great  field  presented  itself. 
Of  this  place  even  our  friend  the  cura  Carillo  had 
never  heard.  Our  first  intelligence  of  ruins  in  this 
region  was  from  the  brother  of  the  padrecito  at 

Vol.  IL— G  5 


50 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Nohcacab,  who,  however,  had  never  seen  them  him- 
self. Since  our  arrival  in  the  country  we  had  not 
met  with  anything  that  excited  us  more  strongly,  and 
now  we  had  mingled  feelings  of  pain  and  pleasure; 
of  pain,  that  they  had  not  been  discovered  before 
the  sentence  of  irretrievable  ruin  had  gone  forth 
against  them ;  at  the  same  time  it  was  matter  of 
deep  congratulation  that,  before  the  doom  was  ac- 
complished, we  were  permitted  to  see  these  decay- 
ing, but  still  proud  memorials  of  a  mysterious  peo- 
ple. In  a  few  years,  even  these  will  be  gone ;  and 
as  it  has  been  denied  that  such  things  ever  were, 
doubts  may  again  arise  whether  they  have  indeed 
existed.  So  strong  was  this  impression  that  we  de- 
termined to  fortify  in  every  possible  way  our  proofs. 
If  anything  could  have  added  to  the  interest  of  dis- 
covering such  a  new  field  of  research,  it  was  the 
satisfaction  of  having  at  our  command  such  an  ef- 
fective force  of  Indians.  No  time  was  lost,  and 
they  began  work  with  a  spirit  corresponding  to  their 
numbers.  Many  of  them  had  hachas,  or  small 
axes,  and  the  crash  of  falling  trees  was  hke  the  stir- 
ring noise  of  felling  in  one  of  our  own  forests. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  a  pyramidal  mound, 
holding  aloft  the  most  curious  and  extraordinary 
structure  we  had  seen  in  the  country.  It  put  us  on 
the  alert  the  moment  we  saw  it.  We  passed  an  en- 
tire day  before  it,  and,  in  looking  back  upon  our 
journey  among  ruined  cities,  no  subject  of  greater 
interest  presents  itself  to  my  mind.    The  mound  is 


EXTRAORDINARY  STRUCTURE. 


51 


forty-five  feet  high.  The  steps  had  fallen ;  trees 
were  growing  out  of  the  place  where  they  stood, 
and  we  reached  the  top  by  clinging  to  the  branch- 
es ;  when  these  were  cleared  away,  it  was  extreme- 
ly difficult  to  ascend  and  descend.  The  maguey 
plants  cut  down  in  making  the  clearing  appear  fall- 
en on  the  steps. 

A  narrow  platform  forms  the  top  of  the  mound. 
The  building  faces  the  south,  and  when  entire  meas- 
ured forty-three  feet  in  front  and  twenty  feet  in 
depth.  It  had  three  doorways,  of  which  one,  with 
eight  feet  of  the  whole  structure,  has  fallen,  and  is 
now  in  ruins.  The  centre  doorway  opens  into  two 
chambers,  each  twenty  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide. 

Above  the  cornice  of  the  building  rises  a  gigantic 
perpendicular  wall  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet,  once 
ornamented  from  top  to  bottom,  and  from  one  side 
to  the  other,  with  colossal  figures  and  other  designs 
in  stucco,  now  broken  and  in  fragments,  but  still  pre- 
senting a  curious  and  extraordinary  appearance,  such 
as  the  art  of  no  other  people  ever  produced.  Along 
the  top,  standing  out  on  the  wall,  was  a  row  of 
death's  heads  ;  underneath  were  two  lines  of  human 
figures  in  alto  relievo  (of  which  scattered  arms  and 
legs  alone  remain),  the  grouping  of  which,  so  far  as 
it  could  be  made  out,  showed  considerable  proficien- 
cy in  that  most  difficult  department  of  the  art  of  de- 
sign. Over  the  centre  doorway,  constituting  the 
principal  ornament  of  the  wall,  was  a  colossal  figure 
seated,  of  which  only  a  large  tippet  and  girdle,  and 


52 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


some  other  detached  portions,  have  been  preserved. 
Conspicuous  over  the  head  of  this  principal  figure 
is  a  large  ball,  with  a  human  figure  standing  up  be- 
side it,  touching  it  with  his  hands,  and  another  be- 
low it  with  one  knee  on  the  ground,  and  one  hand 
thrown  up  as  if  in  the  efibrt  to  support  the  ball,  or 
in  the  apprehension  of  its  falling  upon  him.  In  all 
our  labours  in  that  country  we  never  studied  so  dil- 
igently to  make  out  from  the  fragments  the  combi- 
nations and  significance  of  these  figures  and  orna- 
ments. Standing  in  the  same  position,  and  looking 
at  them  all  together,  we  could  not  agree. 

Mr.  Catherwood  made  two  drawings  at  different 
hours  and  under  a  different  position  of  the  sun,  and 
Dr.  Cabot  and  myself  worked  upon  it  the  whole 
day  with  the  Daguerreotype.  With  the  full  blaze 
of  a  vertical  sun  upon  it,  the  white  stone  glared 
with  an  intensity  dazzling  and  painful  to  the  eyes, 
and  almost  reahzing  the  account  by  Bernal  Dias  in 
the  expedition  to  Mexico,  of  the  arrival  of  the  Span- 
iards at  Cempoal.  "  Our  advanced  guard  having  gone 
to  the  great  square,  the  buildings  of  which  had  been 
lately  whitewashed  and  plastered,  in  which  art  these 
people  are  very  expert,  one  of  our  horsemen  was 
so  struck  with  the  splendour  of  their  appearance  in 
the  sun,  that  he  came  back  at  full  speed  to  Cortez, 
to  tell  him  that  the  walls  of  the  houses  were  of  sil- 
ver." 

Our  best  view  was  obtained  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  edifice  was  in  shade,  but  so  broken  and 


RUINOUS  STATE   OF  THIS  STRUCTURE.  53 

confused  were  the  ornaments  that  a  distinct  repre- 
sentation could  not  be  made  even  with  the  Daguer- 
reotype, and  the  only  way  to  make  out  all  the  details 
was  near  approach  by  means  of  a  ladder ;  we  had 
all  the  woods  to  make  one  of,  but  it  was  difficult 
for  the  Indians  to  make  one  of  the  length  required; 
and  when  made  it  would  have  been  too  heavy  and 
cumbersome  to  manage  on  the  narrow  platform  in 
front.  Besides,  the  wall  was  tottering  and  ready  to 
fall.  One  portion  was  already  gone  in  a  perpen- 
dicular line  from  top  to  bottom,  and  the  reader  will 
see  in  the  engraving  that  on  a  line  with  the  right  of 
the  centre  doorway  the  wall  is  cracked,  and  above 
is  gaping,  and  stands  apart  more  than  a  foot  all  the 
way  to  the  top.  In  a  few  years  it  must  fall.  Its 
doom  is  sealed.  Human  power  cannot  save  it ;  but 
in  its  ruins  it  gave  a  grand  idea  of  the  scenes  of  bar- 
baric magnificence  which  this  country  must  have 
presented  when  all  her  cities  were  entire.  The  fig- 
ures and  ornaments  on  this  wall  were  painted ;  the 
remains  of  bright  colours  are  still  visible,  defying  the 
action  of  the  elements.  If  a  sohtary  traveller  from 
the  Old  World  could  by  some  strange  accident  have 
visited  this  aboriginal  city  when  it  was  yet  perfect, 
his  account  would  have  seemed  more  fanciful  than 
any  in  Eastern  story,  and  been  considered  a  subject 
for  the  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments. 

At  the  distance  of  a  few  hundred  feet  from  this 
Structure,  in  sight  at  the  same  time  as  we  approach- 


54 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


€d  it,  is  an  arched  gateway,  remarkable  for  its  beau- 
ty of  proportions  and  grace  of  ornament.  The 
plate  opposite  represents  this  gateway.  On  the 
right,  running  off  at  an  angle  of  thirty  degrees,  is  a 
long  building  much  fallen,  which  could  not  be  com- 
prehended in  the  view.  On  the  left  it  forms  an  an- 
gle with  another  building,  and  on  the  return  of  the 
wall  there  is  a  doorway,  not  shown  in  the  engra- 
ving, of  good  proportions,  and  more  richly  ornament- 
ed than  any  other  portion  of  the  structure.  The 
effect  of  the  whole  combination  was  curious  and 
striking,  and,  familiar  as  we  were  with  ruins,  the 
first  view,  with  the  great  wall  towering  in  front, 
created  an  impression  that  is  not  easily  described. 

The  gateway  is  ten  feet  wide,  passing  through 
which  we  entered  a  thick  forest,  growing  so  close 
upon  the  building  that  we  were  unable  to  make  out 
even  its  shape  ;  but,  on  clearing  away  the  trees,  we 
discovered  that  this  had  been  the  principal  front, 
and  that  these  trees  were  growing  in  what  had  once 
been  the  area,  or  courtyard.  The  doors  of  the 
apartments  on  both  sides  of  the  gateway,  each 
twelve  feet  by  eight,  opened  upon  this  area.  Over 
each  doorway  was  a  square  recess,  in  which  were 
the  remains  of  a  rich  ornament  in  stucco,  with 
marks  of  paint  still  visible,  apparently  intended  to 
represent  the  face  of  the  sun  surrounded  by  its  rays, 
probably  once  objects  of  adoration  and  worship. 


MAGNIFICENT  EDIFICE. 


55 


but  now  wilfully  destroyed.  The  plate  opposite 
represents  this  front.  The  buildings  around  the 
area  formed  a  great  irregular  pile,  measuring  in  all 
two  hundred  feet  in  length.  The  plan  was  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  any  we  had  seen,  but,  having  so 
many  subjects  to  present,  1  have  not  had  it  en- 
graved. 

Northeast  from  the  mound  on  which  the  great 
wall  stands,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
distant,  is  a  large  building,  erected  on  a  terrace,  and 
hidden  among  the  trees  growling  thereupon,  with  its 
front  much  ruined,  and  having  but  few  remains  of 
sculptured  ornaments.  Still  farther  in  the  same  di- 
rection, going  through  the  woods,  we  reach  the 
grand,  and,  without  extravagance,  the  really  magnifi- 
cent building  represented  in  the  frontispiece  to  this 
volume.  It  stands  on  a  gigantic  terrace,  four  hun- 
dred feet  long  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep. 
The  whole  terrace  is  covered  with  buildings.  The 
front  represented  measures  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  feet  in  length.  It  consisted  of  three  distinct 
parts,  differing  in  style,  and  perhaps  erected  at  dif- 
ferent times.  At  a  distance,  as  seen  indistinctly 
through  the  trees,  we  had  no  idea  of  its  extent.  We 
came  upon  it  at  the  corner  which  appears  on  the 
right  in  the  engraving.  Our  guide  cut  a  path  along 
the  front  wall,  and  stopping,  as  we  did,  to  look  at 
the  ornaments,  and  entering  the  apartments  as  we 
went  along,  the  building  seemed  immense. 

The  whole  long  facade  was  ornamented  with 


56 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


sculptured  stone,  of  which,  large  as  the  engraving 
is,  the  details  cannot  appear  ;  but,  to  give  some  idea 
of  their  character,  a  detached  portion  is  represented 
in  the  engraving  opposite,  and,  I  ought  at  the  same 
time  to  remark,  is  perhaps  the  most  curious  and  in- 
teresting of  any.  It  is  at  the  left  end  of  the  prin- 
cipal building,  and  in  the  angle  of  the  corner  are 
the  huge  open  jaws  of  an  alligator,  or  some  other 
hideous  animal,  enclosing  a  human  head. 

The  reader  will  form  some  idea  of  the  over- 
grown and  shrouded  condition  of  this  building  from 
the  fact  that  I  had  been  at  work  nearly  the  whole  day 
upon  the  terrace,  without  knowing  that  there  was 
another  building  on  the  top.  In  order  to  take  in  the 
whole  front  at  one  view,  it  was  necessary  to  carry 
the  clearing  back  some  distance  into  the  plain,  and 
in  doing  this  I  discovered  the  upper  structure.  The 
growth  of  trees  before  it  was  almost  equal  to  that 
on  the  terrace,  or  in  any  part  of  the  forest.  The 
whole  had  to  be  cleared,  the  trees  thrown  down 
upon  the  terrace,  and  thence  dragged  away  to  the 
plain.  This  building  consists  of  single  narrow  cor- 
ridors, and  the  facade  is  of  plain  stone,  without  any 
ornaments. 

The  platform  in  front  is  the  roof  of  the  building 
underneath,  and  in  this  platform  was  a  circular  hole, 
like  those  we  had  seen  at  Uxmal  and  other  places, 
leading  to  subterraneous  chambers.  This  hole  was 
well  known  to  the  Indians,  and  had  a  marvellous 


I.  A  B     A  H 


Pam  56Vol.2. 


SUBTERRANEOUS    CHAMBER.  57 

reputation  ;  and  yet  they  never  mentioned  it  until  I 
climbed  up  to  examine  the  upper  building.  They 
said  it  was  the  abode  of  el  dueno  de  la  casa,  or  the 
owner  of  the  building.  I  immediately  proposed 
to  descend,  but  the  old  Indian  begged  me  not  to  do 
so,  and  said  apprehensively  to  the  others,  "  Who 
knows  but  that  he  will  meet  with  the  owner  V 
I  immediately  sent  for  rope,  lantern,  and  match- 
es; and,  absurd  as  it  may  seem,  as  I  looked  upon 
the  wild  figures  of  the  Indians  standing  round  the 
hole,  and  their  earnest  faces,  it  was  really  exci- 
ting to  hear  them  talk  of  the  owner.  As  there 
was  a  difficulty  in  procuring  rope,  I  had  a  sapling 
cut  and  let  down  the  hole,  by  means  of  which  I 
descended  with  a  lantern.  The  news  of  my  in- 
tention and  of  the  preparations  going  on  had  spread 
among  the  Indians,  and  all  left  off  work  and  hur- 
ried to  the  spot.  The  hole  was  about  four  feet 
deep,  and,  just  as  my  head  sunk  below  the  surface, 
I  was  startled  by  an  extraordinary  scratching  and 
scampering,  and  a  huge  iguana  ran  along  the  wall, 
and  escaped  through  the  orifice  by  which  I  had  en- 
tered. 

The  chamber  was  entirely  different  in  shape  from 
those  I  had  seen  before.  The  latter  were  circular, 
and  had  dome -shaped  ceihngs.  This  had  parallel 
walls  and  tlje  triangular- arched  ceiling ;  in  fact,  it 
w^as  in  shape  exactly  like  the  apartments  above 
ground.    It  was  eleven  feet  long,  seven  wide,  and 

Vol.  IL— H 


58 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ten  high  to  the  centre  of  the  arch.  The  walls  and 
ceiling  were  plastered,  and  the  floor  was  of  cement, 
all  hard  and  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  A  cen- 
tipede was  the  only  tenant  after  the  evasion  of  the 
iguana. 

While  I  was  making  these  measurements,  the  In- 
dians kept  up  a  low  conversation  around  the  hole. 
A  mystery  hung  around  it,  transmitted  to  them  by 
their  fathers,  and  connected  with  an  indefinable 
sense  of  apprehension.  This  mystery  might  have 
been  solved  at  any  time  in  five  minutes,  but  none 
of  them  had  ever  thought  of  doing  it,  and  the  old 
man  begged  me  to  come  out,  saying  that  if  I  died 
they  would  have  to  answer  for  it.  Their  simplicity 
and  credulity  seem  hardly  credible.  They  had  all 
sense  enough  to  take  their  hands  out  of  the  fire 
without  being  told,  but  probably  to  this  day  they  be- 
lieve that  in  that  hole  is  the  owner  of  the  building. 
When  I  came  out  they  looked  at  me  with  admira- 
tion. They  told  me  that  there  were  other  places  of 
the  same  kind,  but  they  would  not  show  them  to 
me,  lest  some  accident  should  happen ;  and  as  my 
attempt  drew  them  all  from  work,  and  I  could  not 
promise  myself  any  satisfactory  result,  I  refrained 
from  insisting. 

This  chamber  was  formed  in  the  roof  of  the  low- 
er building.  That  building  contained  two  corridors, 
and  we  had  always  supposed  that  the  great  interval 
between  the  arches  of  the  parallel  corridors  was  a 


A    RAMON  TREE. 


69 


solid  mass  of  masonry.  The  discovery  of  this 
chamber  brought  to  light  a  new  feature  in  the  con- 
struction of  these  buildings.  Whether  the  other 
roofs,  or  any  of  them,  contained  chambers,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say.  Not  suspecting  anything  of  the 
kind,  we  had  made  no  search  for  them,  and  they 
may  exist,  but  with  the  holes  covered  up  and  hid- 
den by  the  growth  and  decay  of  vegetation.  Here- 
tofore I  had  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  the  subter- 
raneous chambers  I  had  met  with  were  intended  for 
cisterns  or  reservoirs  of  water.  The  position  of  this 
in  the  roof  of  a  building  seemed  adverse  to  such  an 
idea,  as,  in  case  of  a  breach,  the  water  might  find 
its  way  into  the  apartment  below. 

At  the  foot  of  the  terrace  was  a  tree,  hiding  part 
of  the  building.  Though  holding  trees  in  some  de- 
gree of  reverence,  around  these  ruined  cities  it  was 
a  great  satisfaction  to  hear  them  fall.  This  one 
was  a  noble  ramon,  which  I  had  ordered  to  be  cut 
down,  and  being  engaged  in  another  direction,  I  re- 
turned, and  found  that  the  Indians  had  not  done  so, 
and  they  said  it  was  so  hard  that  it  would  break 
their  axes.  These  little  axes  seemed  hardly  capa- 
ble of  making  any  impression  upon  the  trunk,  and 
I  gave  them  directions,  perhaps  still  more  barbarous, 
to  cut  away  the  branches  and  leave  the  trunk.  They 
hesitated,  and  one  of  them  said,  in  a  deprecating 
tone,  that  this  tree  served  as  food  for  horses  and 
cattle,  and  their  mistress  had  always  charged  them 
not  to  cut  down  such.    The  poor  fellow  seemed 


60 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


perplexed  between  the  standing  orders  of  the  rancho 
and  the  special  instructions  to  do  what  I  required. 

The  ramon  tree  was  growing  out  of  the  mouth 
of  a  cave,  which  the  Indians  said  was  an  ancient 
well.  I  should  perhaps  not  have  observed  it,  but 
for  the  discussion  about  cutting  down  the  tree.  I 
had  no  great  disposition  for  another  subterraneous 
scramble,  but  descended  the  cavity  or  opening  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  mouth. 
On  one  side  was  a  great  ledge  of  stone  projecting 
as  a  roof,  and  under  this  was  a  passage  in  the  rock, 
choked  up  by  masses  of  fallen  stone.  It  was  im- 
possible to  continue  if  I  had  been  so  disposed,  but 
there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  formerly  there 
had  been  some  wild  passage  through  the  rocks  as  at 
Xcoch  and  Chack,  which  led  to  a  subterraneous  de- 
posite  of  water,  and  that  this  had  been  one  of  the 
sources  from  which  the  ancient  inhabitants  procu- 
red their  supply. 

From  the  number  of  Indians  at  our  command, 
and  their  alacrity  in  working,  we  had  been  enabled 
to  accomplish  much  in  a  very  short  time.  In  three 
days  they  finished  all  that  I  required  of  them. 
When  I  dismissed  them,  I  gave  a  half  dollar  extra 
to  be  divided  among  seventeen,  and  as  I  was  going 
away  Bernabe  exclaimed,  "  Ave  Maria,  que  gracias 
dan  a  vd."  "  Ave  Maria,  what  thanks  they  give  you." 

The  evening  closed  with  a  general  gathering  of 
the  Indians  under  the  arbour  in  front  of  the  casa 
real.    Before  setting  out  in  the  morning  the  alcalde 


A    TALK   WITH    THE    INDIANS.  61 

asked  me  whether  I  wished  them  to  assemble  for 
the  purpose  of  talking  with  them,  and  we  had  pro- 
vided for  their  entertainment  a  sheep  and  a  turkey, 
to  which  Bernaldo  had  devoted  the  day.  At  sun- 
down all  was  ready.  We  insisted  upon  seating  the 
old  alcalde  on  a  chair.  Bernaldo  served  out  meat 
and  tortillas,  and  the  alcalde  presided  over  the  agua 
ardiente,  which,  as  it  was  purchased  of  himself,  and 
to  prove  that  it  was  not  bad,  he  tasted  before  serving 
the  rest,  and  took  his  share  afterward.  Supper  over, 
we  began  our  conversation,  which  consisted  entirely 
of  questions  on  our  part  and  answers  on  theirs,  a  man- 
ner of  discourse  even  in  civiUzed  life  difficult  to  be 
kept  up  long.  There  was  no  unwillingness  to  give 
information,  but  there  was  a  want  of  communica- 
tiveness which  made  all  intercourse  with  them  un- 
profitable and  unsatisfactory.  In  fact,  however, 
they  had  nothing  to  communicate ;  they  had  no 
stories  or  traditions ;  they  knew  nothing  of  the  ori- 
gin of  the  ruined  buildings ;  these  were  standing  when 
they  were  born  ;  had  existed  in  the  time  of  their  fa- 
thers ;  and  the  old  men  said  that  they  had  fallen  much 
within  their  own  memory.  In  one  point,  however, 
they  differed  from  the  Indians  of  Uxmal  and  Zayi. 
They  had  no  superstitious  feehngs  with  regard  to 
the  ruins,  were  not  afraid  to  go  to  them  at  night,  or 
to  sleep  in  them  ;  and  when  we  told  them  of  the 
music  that  was  heard  sounding  among  the  old  build- 
ings of  Zayi,  they  said  that  if  it  were  heard  among 
these,  they  would  all  go  and  dance  to  it. 

6 


62 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


There  were  other  vestiges  and  mounds,  all,  how- 
ever, in  a  ruinous  condition.  The  last  day,  while 
Mr.  Catherwood  was  finishing  at  Labna,  I  rode 
with  Bernaldo  to  the  hacienda  of  Tabi,  two  leagues 
distant,  which,  and  those  of  Xcanchakan,  already 
presented  in  these  pages,  and  Vayalke,  belonging  to 
the  Senora  Joaquina  Peon,  where  we  stopped  on  our 
first  visit  to  Uxmal,  were  distinguished  as  the  three 
finest  in  Yucatan.  Before  the  gate  were  some  no- 
ble seybo  trees,  and  near  it  a  tiendicita,  or  small 
shop,  supplied  with  articles  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
the  Indians  appertaining  to  the  hacienda.  The 
great  yard  was  lined  with  buildings,  among  which 
were  the  church  and  an  enclosure  for  a  bull- 
fight, prepared  for  a  festival  which  was  to  commence 
the  next  day.  In  the  wall  of  the  hacienda  were 
sculptured  ornaments  from  the  ruins  of  ancient,^ 
buildings.  At  the  foot  of  the  steps  was  a  double- 
headed  eagle,  well  carved,  holding  in  his  claws  a 
sort  of  sceptre,  and  underneath  were  the  figures  of 
two  tigers  four  feet  high.  In  the  back  of  the  house 
was  a  projecting  stone  figure,  with  its  mouth  open, 
an  uncomfortable  expression  of  face,  arms  akimbo, 
and  hands  pressing  the  sides,  as  if  in  a  qualmish 
state.  It  was  used  as  a  water-spout,  and  a  stream 
was  pouring  out  of  the  mouth.  The  buildings  from 
which  these  stones  were  taken  were  near  the  haci- 
enda, but  were  mere  piles  of  ruins.  They  had  fur- 
nished materials  fpr  the  construction  of  the  church, 
walls,  and  all  the  edifices  on  the  hacienda. 


VISIT    TO    A  CAVE. 


63 


Besides  this  there  was  a  great  cave,  of  w^hich  I 
had  heard  in  Merida  from  the  owner,  who  said  he 
had  never  visited  it,  but  wished  me  to  do  so,  and  he 
would  read  my  description  of  it.  The  major  domo 
was  an  intelligent  Mestizo,  who  had  been  at  the 
cave,  and  confirmed  all  the  accounts  I  had  heard  of 
it,  of  sculptured  figures  of  men  and  animals,  pillars, 
and  a  chapel  of  rock  under  the  earth.  He  furnish- 
ed me  with  a  vaquero  as  a  guide  and  a  reUef  horse, 
and,  setting  out,  a  short  distance  from  the  hacien- 
da we  turned  into  a  tree-encumbered  path,  so  diffi- 
cult to  pass  through  that,  before  we  had  gone  far,  it 
seemed  quite  reasonable  in  the  owner  to  content 
himself  with  reading  our  description  of  the  cave, 
without  taking  the  trouble  to  see  it  for  himself. 
The  vaquero  was  encased  in  the  equipments  with 
which  that  class  ride  into  the  woods  after  cattle. 
His  dress  was  a  small,  hard,  heavy  straw  hat,  cotton 
shirt,  drawers,  and  sandals ;  over  his  body  a  thick 
jacket,  or  overall,  made  of  tanned  cowhide,  with  the 
sleeves  reaching  below  his  hands,  and  standing  out 
as  if  made  of  wood  ;  his  saddle  had  large  leather 
flaps,  which  folded  back  and  protected  his  naked 
legs,  and  leather  stirrup  flaps  to  protect  his  feet. 
Where  he  dashed  through  the  bushes  and  briers  un- 
harmed, my  thin  blues  got  caught  and  torn ;  but  he 
knew  what  garrapatas  were,  and  said  with  empha- 
sis, "  Estos  chicos  son  muy  Demonios."  "  Those 
little  ones  are  the  very  d — 1.'* 

At  the  distance  of  a  league  we  reached  the  cave, 


64 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


and,  tying  our  horses,  descended  by  a  great  chasm 
to  the  depth  of  perhaps  two  hundred  feet,  when  we 
found  ourselves  under  a  great  shelf  of  overhanging 
rock,  the  cavern  being  dark  as  we  advanced,  but  all 
at  once  hghted  up  from  beyond  by  a  perpendicular 
orifice,  and  exhibiting  in  the  background  magnifi- 
cent stalactites,  picturesque  blocks  and  fragments  of 
rock,  which,  in  the  shadows  of  the  background,  as- 
sumed all  manner  of  fantastic  shapes,  and,  from  their 
fancied  resemblance,  had  been  called  the  figures  of 
men  and  animals,  pillars  and  chapels.  I  saw  at 
once  that  there  was  another  disappointment  for  me  ; 
there  were  no  monuments  of  art,  and  had  never  been 
anything  artificial ;  but  the  cave  itself,  being  large 
and  open,  and  lighted  in  several  places  by  orifices 
above,  was  so  magnificent  that,  notwithstanding  the 
labour  and  disappointment,  I  did  not  regret  my  visit. 
I  passed  two  hours  in  wandering  through  it,  re- 
turned to  the  hacienda  to  dine,  and  it  was  after 
dark  when  I  reached  the  rancho,  and  for  the  last 
time  had  the  benefit  of  its  well  in  the  shape  of  a 
warm  bath.  Throughout  Yucatan,  every  Indian, 
however  poor,  has,  as  part  of  the  furniture  of  his  hut, 
a  baiio,  or  sort  of  bathing-tub  ;  and,  next  to  ma- 
king tortillas,  the  great  use  of  a  wife  is  to  have  warm 
water  ready  for  him  when  he  returns  from  his  work. 
We  had  not  the  latter  convenience,  but  at  this  place, 
for  a  medio,  we  had  the  alcalde's  baiio  every  even- 
ing. It  was  a  wooden  dug-out,  flat  bottomed,  about 
three  feet  long,  eighteen  inches  wide,  three  or  four 


A  BATH. 


65 


inches  deep,  and  bathing  in  it  was  somewhat  like 
bathing  in  the  salver  of  a  tea-table,  but,  covered  as 
we  were  constantly  with  garrapata  bites,  mere  ablu- 
tion was  as  grateful  as  a  Turkish  or  Egyptian  bath. 
Vol.  IL— I 


66 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Search  for  Ruined  Cities  continued. — Journey  to  the  Rancho  of 
Kewick. — Ruined  Building. — Lose  the  Road. — Set  right  by  an 
Indian. — Arrival  at  Kewick. — The  Casa  Real. — Visit  from  the 
Proprietor  of  the  Rancho,  a  full-blooded  Indian. — His  Charac- 
ter.— Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Garrapatas. — Old  Walls.— Fagades. — 
Imposing  Scene  of  Ruins. — Principal  Doorway. — Apartments. 
— Curious  Painting. — ^Excavating  a  Stone. — A  long  Building. — 
Other  Ruins. — Continued  Scarcity  of  Water. — Visit  to  a  Cave, 
called  by  the  Indians  Actum. — A  wild  Scene. — An  Aguada. — 
Return  to  the  Casa  Real. — A  Crisis  in  Money  Matters. — Jour- 
ney to  Xul. — Entry  into  the  Village. — The  Convent. — Recep- 
tion.—  The  Cura  of  Xul. —  His  Character. —  Mingling  of  Old 
Things  with  New. — The  Church. — A  Levee. — A  Welcome  Ar- 
rival. 

The  next  morning  we  resumed  om*  journey  in 
search  of  ruined  cities.  Our  next  point  of  destina- 
tion was  the  rancho  of  Kewick,  three  leagues  dis- 
tant. Mr.  Catherwood  set  out  with  the  servants 
and  luggage,  Dr.  Cabot  and  myself  following  in 
about  an  hour.  The  Indians  told  us  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  finding  the  road,  and  we  set  out  alone. 
About  a  mile  from  the  rancho  we  passed  a  ruined 
building  on  the  left,  surmounted  by  a  high  wall,  with 
oblong  apertures,  like  that  mentioned  at  Zayi  as  re- 
sembling a  New-England  factory.    The  face  of  the 


A  DILEMMA. 


67 


country  was  rolling,  and  more  open  than  any  we  had 
seen.  We  passed  through  two  Indian  ranchos,  and 
a  league  beyond  came  to  a  dividing  point,  where 
we  found  ourselves  at  a  loss.  Both  were  mere  In- 
dian footpaths,  seldom  or  never  traversed  by  horse- 
men, and,  having  but  one  chance  against  us,  we 
selected  that  most  directly  in  line  with  the  one  by 
which  we  had  come.  In  about  an  hour  the  di- 
rection changed  so  much  that  we  turned  back, 
and,  after  a  toilsome  ride,  reached  again  the  divi- 
ding point,  and  turned  into  the  other  path.  This 
led  us  into  a  wild  savanna  surrounded  by  hills,  and 
very  soon  we  found  tracks  leading  off  in  different 
directions,  among  which,  in  a  short  time,  we  be- 
came perfectly  bewildered.  The  whole  distance 
to  Kewick  was  but  three  leagues ;  we  had  been  ri- 
ding hard  six  hours,  and  began  to  fear  that  we  had 
made  a  mistake  in  turning  back,  and  at  every  step 
were  going  more  astray.  In  the  midst  of  our  per- 
plexities we  came  upon  an  Indian  leading  a  wild 
colt,  who,  without  asking  any  questions,  or  waiting 
for  any  from  us,  waved  us  back,  and,  tying  his  colt  to 
a  bush,  led  us  across  the  plain  into  another  path,  fol- 
lowing which  some  distance,  he  again  struck  across, 
and  put  us  into  still  another,  where  he  left  us,  and 
started  to  return  to  his  colt.  We  were  loth  to  lose 
him,  and  urged  him  to  continue  as  our  guide  ;  but  he 
was  impenetrable  until  we  held  up  a  medio,  when  he 
again  moved  on  before  us.    The  whole  region  was 


68 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


SO  wild  that  even  yet  v^e  had  doubts,  and  hardly  be- 
lieved that  such  a  path  could  lead  to  a  village  or 
rancho  ;  but,  w^ithal,  there  was  one  interesting  cir- 
cumstance. In  our  desolate  and  wandering  path 
we  had  seen  in  different  places,  at  a  distance,  and 
inaccessible,  five  high  mounds,  holding  aloft  the  ru- 
ins of  ancient  buildings  ;  and  doubtless  there  were 
more  buried  in  the  woods.  At  three  o'clock  we 
entered  a  dense  forest,  and  came  suddenly  upon  the 
casa  real  of  Kewick,  standing  alone,  almost  buried 
among  trees,  the  only  habitation  of  any  kind  in 


CASA    REAL    OF  KEWICK, 


69 


sight ;  and,  to  increase  the  wondering  interest  which 
attended  every  step  of  our  journey  in  that  country, 
it  stood  on  the  platform  of  an  ancient  terrace, 
strewed  with  the  reUcs  of  a  ruined  edifice.  The 
steps  of  the  terrace  had  fallen  and  been  newly  laid, 
but  the  walls  were  entire,  with  all  the  stones  in  place. 
Conspicuous  in  view  was  Mr.  Catherwood  with 
our  servants  and  luggage,  and,  as  we  rode  up,  it 
seemed  a  strange  confusion  of  things  past  and  pres- 
ent, of  scenes  consecrated  by  time  and  those  of  ev- 
ery-day  life,  though  Mr.  Catherwood  dispelled  the 
floating  visions  by  his  first  greeting,  which  was  an 
assurance  that  the  casa  real  was  full  of  fleas.  We 
tied  our  horses  at  the  foot  of  the  terrace,  and  ascend- 
ed the  steps.  The  casa  real  had  mud  walls  and  a 
thatched  roof,  and  in  front  was  an  arbour.  Sit- 
ting down  under  the  arbour,  with  our  hotel  on  this 
ancient  platform,  we  had  seldom  experienced  higher 
satisfaction  on  reaching  a  new  and  unknown  field 
of  ruins,  though  perhaps  this  was  owing  somewhat 
to  the  circumstance  of  finding  ourselves,  after  a  hot 
and  perplexing  ride,  safely  arrived  at  our  place  o^ 
destination.  We  had  still  two  hours  of  dayhght; 
and,  anxious  to  have  a  glimpse  of  the  ruins  before 
night,  we  had  some  fried  eggs  and  tortillas  got  ready, 
and  while  making  a  hasty  meal,  the  proprietor  of 
the  rancho,  attended  by  a  party  of  Indians,  came 
to  pay  us  a  visit. 

This  proprietor  was  a  full-blooded  Indian,  the 
first  of  this  ancient  but  degraded  race  whom  we  had 


70 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


seen  in  the  position  of  land-owner  and  master.  He 
was  about  forty-five  years  old,  and  highly  respecta- 
ble in  his  appearance  and  manners.  He  had  inher- 
ited the  land  from  his  fathers,  did  not  know  how 
long  it  had  been  transmitted,  but  believed  that  it  had 
always  been  in  his  family.  The  Indians  on  the 
rancho  were  his  servants,  and  we  had  not  seen  in  any 
village  or  on  any  hacienda  men  of  better  appear- 
ance, or  under  more  excellent  discipline.  This  pro- 
duced on  my  mind  a  strong  impression  that,  indolent, 
ignorant,  and  debased  as  the  race  is  under  the  do- 
minion of  strangers,  the  Indian  even  now  is  not  inca- 
pable of  fulfilling  the  obligations  of  a  higher  station 
than  that  in  which  his  destiny  has  placed  him.  It 
is  not  true  that  he  is  fit  only  to  labour  with  his 
hands ;  he  has  within  him  that  which  is  capable  of 
directing  the  labour  of  others  ;  and  as  this  Indian 
master  sat  on  the  terrace,  with  his  dependants 
crouching  round  him,  I  could  imagine  him  the  de- 
scendant of  a  long  line  of  caciques  who  once 
reigned  in  the  city,  the  ruins  of  which  were  his  in- 
heritance. Involuntarily  we  treated  him  with  a  re- 
spect we  had  never  shown  to  an  Indian  before  ;  but 
perhaps  we  were  not  free  from  the  influence  of 
feelings  which  govern  in  civilized  life,  and  our  re- 
spect may  have  proceeded  from  the  discovery  that 
our  new  acquaintance  was  a  man  of  property,  pos- 
sessed not  merely  of  acres,  and  Indians,  and  unpro- 
ductive real  estate,  but  also  of  that  great  desidera- 
tum in  these  trying  times,  ready  money ;  for  we  had 


GARRAPATAS. 


71 


given  Albino  a  dollar  to  purchase  eggs  with,  who  ob- 
jected to  it  as  too  large  a  coin  to  be  available  on 
the  rancho,  but  on  his  return  informed  us,  with  an 
expression  of  surprise,  that  the  master  had  changed 
it  the  moment  it  was  offered  to  him. 

Our  hasty  dinner  over,  we  asked  for  Indians  to 
guide  us  to  the  ruins,  and  were  somewhat  startled  by 
the  objections  they  all  made  on  account  of  the  garra- 
patas.  Since  we  left  Uxmal  the  greatest  of  our  small 
hardships  had  been  the  annoyance  of  these  insects ; 
in  fact,  it  was  by  no  means  a  small  hardship.  Fre- 
quently we  came  in  contact  with  a  bush  covered 
with  them,  from  which  thousands  swarmed  upon  us, 
like  moving  grains  of  sand,  and  scattered  till  the 
body  itself  seemed  crawling.  Our  horses  suffered, 
perhaps,  more  than  ourselves,  and  it  became  a  habit, 
whenever  we  dismounted,  to  rasp  their  sides  with  a 
rough  stick.  During  the  dry  season  the  little  pests 
are  killed  off  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  devoured  by 
birds,  but  for  which  I  verily  believe  they  would 
make  the  country  uninhabitable.  All  along  we  had 
been  told  that  the.  dry  season  was  at  hand,  and  they 
would  soon  be  over  ;  but  we  began  to  despair  of  any 
dry- season,  and  had  no  hopes  of  getting  rid  of  them. 
Nevertheless,  we  were  somewhat  startled  at  the 
warning  conveyed  by  the  reluctance  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  when  we  insisted  upon  going,  they  gave  us  an- 
other alarming  intimation  by  cutting  twigs,  with 
which,  from  the  moment  of  starting,  they  whipped 
the  bushes  on  each  side,  and  swept  the  path  before 
them. 


72 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Beyond  the  woods  we  came  out  into  a  compara- 
tively open  field,  in  which  we  saw  on  all  sides  through 
the  trees  the  Xlap-pahk,  or  old  walls,  now  grown 
so  familiar,  a  collection  of  vast  remains  and  of  many 
buildings.  We  worked  our  way  to  all  within  sight. 
The  facades  were  not  so  much  ornamented  as  some 
we  had  seen,  but  the  stones  were  more  massive,  and 
the  style  of  architecture  was  simple,  severe,  and 
grand.  Nearly  every  house  had  fallen,  and  one  long 
ornamented  front  lay  on  the  ground  cracked  and 
doubled  up  as  if  shaken  off  by  the  vibrations  of  an 
earthquake,  and  still  struggling  to  retain  its  upright 
position,  the  whole  presenting  a  most  picturesque 
and  imposing  scene  of  ruins,  and  conveying  to  the 
mind  a  strong  image  of  the  besom  of  destruction 
sweeping  over  a  city.  Night  came  upon  us  while 
gazing  at  a  mysterious  painting,  and  we  returned  to 
the  casa  real  to  sleep. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  again  on  the 
ground,  with  our  Indian  proprietor  and  a  large  par- 
ty of  his  criados ;  and  as  the  reader  is  now  some- 
what familiar  with  the  general  character  of  these 
ruins,  I  select  from  the  great  mass  around  only  such 
as  have  some  pecuHarity.  * 

The  first  is  that  represented  in  the  plate  opposite. 
It  had  been  the  principal  doorway,  and  was  all  that 
now  remained  of  a  long  line  of  front,  which  lay  in 
ruins  on  the  ground.  It  is  remarkable  for  its  sim- 
plicity, and,  in  that  style  of  architecture,  for  its  gran- 
deur of  proportions. 


CURIOUS  PAINTING. 


73 


The  apartment  into  which  this  door  opened 
had  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  hundreds  of  oth- 
ers we  had  seen,  but  in  the  corner  one  was  the 
mysterious  painting  at  which  we  were  gazing  the 
evening  before,  when  night  overtook  us.  The 
end  wall  had  fallen  inward ;  the  others  remain- 
ed.   The  ceiling,  as  in  all  the  other  buildings,  was 
formed  by  two  sides  rising  to  meet  each  other,  and 
covered  within  a  foot  of  the  point  of  junction  by  a 
flat  layer  of  stones.    In  all  the  other  arches,  with- 
out a  single  exception,  the  layer  was  perfectly  plain  : 
but  this  had  a  single  stone  distinguished  bj  a  paint- 
ing, which  covered  the  whole  surface  presented  to 
view.    The  painting  itself  was  curious ,  the  colours 
were  bright,  red  and  green  predominating  ;  the  lines 
clear  and  distinct,  and  the  whole  was  more  perfect 
than  any  painting  we  had  seen.    But  its  position  sur- 
prised us  more  than  the  painting  itself;  it  was  in  the 
most  out-of-the-way  spot  in  the  whole  edifice,  and 
but  for  the  Indians  we  might  not  have  noticed  it  at 
all.    Why  this  layer  of  stones  was  so  adorned,  or 
why  this  particular  stone  was  distinguished  above 
all  others  in  the  same  layer,  we  were  unable  to  dis- 
cover, but  we  considered  that  it  was  not  done  ca- 
priciously nor  without  cause ;  in  fact,  we  had  long 
been  of  opinion  that  every  stone  in  those  ancient 
buildings,  and  every  design  and  ornament  that  dec- 
orated them,  had  some  certain  though  now  inscruta- 
ble meaning. 
Vol.  IL—K  7 


76  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

have  it  cut  down  to  a  portable  size ;  and  when  we 
left,  the  proprietor  accompanied  me  to  the  village  to 
procure  a  stonecutter  for  that  purpose,  but  there  was 
none  in  the  village,  nor  any  chance  of  one  w^ithin 
twenty- seven  miles.  Unable  to  do  anything  with 
the  stone,  I  engaged  the  proprietor  to  place  it  in  an 
apartment  sheltered  from  rain  ;  and,  if  I  do  not  mis- 
take the  character  of  my  Indian  friend  and  inheritor 
of  a  ruined  city,  it  now  lies  subject  to  my  order ; 
and  I  hereby  authorize  the  next  American  traveller 
to  bring  it  away  at  his  own  expense,  and  deposite  it 
in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington. 

I  shall  present  but  one  more  view  from  the  ruins 
of  Kewick.  It  is  part  of  the  front  of  a  long  build- 
ing, forming  a  right  angle  with  the  one  last  referred 
to.  The  terraces  almost  join,  and  though  all  was 
so  overgrown  that  it  was  difficult  to  make  out  the 
plan  and  juxtaposition,  the  probability  is  that  they 
formed  two  sides  of  a  grand  rectangular  area.  The 
whole  building  measures  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet 
in  length.  In  the  centre  is  a  wide  ruined  staircase 
leading  to  the  top.  The  plate  opposite  represents 
half  of  the  building  to  the  line  of  the  staircase,  the 
other  half  being  exactly  similar.  The  whole  could 
not  be  drawn  without  carrying  back  the  clearing  to 
some  distance,  and  consuming  more  time  than  we 
thought  worth  while  to  devote  to  it.  Below  the  cor- 
nice the  entire  edifice  is  plain ;  and  above  it  is  or- 
namented the  whole  length  with  small  circular  shafts 
set  in  the  wall. 


CONTINUED    SCARCITY    OF    WATER.  77 

The  remaining  ruins  of  Kewick  we  left  as  we 
found  them.  Fallen  buildings  and  fragments  of 
sculptured  stone  strew  the  ground  in  every  direction; 
but  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of 
the  impression  produced  by  wandering  among  them. 
For  a  brief  space  only  we  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
desolate  city,  and  left  it  again  to  solitude  and  si- 
lence. We  had  reason  to  believe  that  no  white  man 
had  ever  seen  it,  and  probably  but  few  will  ever  do 
so,  for  every  year  is  hurrying  it  on  to  more  utter  de- 
struction. 

The  same  scarcity  of  water  which  we  had  found 
all  over  this  region,  except  at  Sabachsh^  exists  here 
also.    The  source  which  suppHed  the  ancient  city 
had  engaged  the  attention  of  its  Indian  proprietor, 
and  while  Mr.  Catherwood  was  drawing  the  last 
building,  the  Indians  conducted  us  to  a  cave,  called 
in  their  language  Actum,  which  they  supposed  was 
an  ancient  well.    The  entrance  was  by  a  hole  un- 
der an  overhanging  rock,  passing  through  which  by 
means  of  a  tree,  with  branches  or  crotches  to  serve 
as  steps,  we  descended  to  a  large  platform  of  rock. 
Overhead  was  an  immense  rocky  roof,  and  at  the 
brink  of  the  platform  was  a  gj'eat  cavern,  with  pre- 
cipitous sides,  thirty  or  forty  feet  deep,  from  which 
the  Indians  supposed  some  passage  opened  that 
would  lead  to  water.    As  we  flared  our  torches  over 
the  chasm,  it  presented  a  scene  of  wildness  and 
grandeur  which,  in  an  hour  of  idleness,  might  have 
tempted  us  to  explore  it;  but  we  had  more  than 
enough  to  occupy  our  time. 


78 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Coming  out  from  the  cave,  w^e  w^ent  on  to  the 
aguada,  which  was  nearly  a  league  distant.  It  was  a 
small,  muddy  pond,  with  trees  growing  on  the  sides 
and  into  the  water,  which,  in  any  other  country, 
would  be  considered  an  unfit  watering-place  for 
beasts.  The  proprietor  and  all  the  Indians  told  us 
that  in  the  dry  season  the  remains  of  stone  embank- 
ments were  still  visible,  made,  as  they  supposed,  by 
the  ancient  inhabitants.  The  bank  was  knee  deep 
with  mud ;  a  few  poles  were  laid  out  on  supporters 
driven  into  the  mud,  and  along  these  the  Indians 
walked  to  dip  up  w^ater.  At  the  time  our  horses 
w^ere  brought  down  to  drink ;  but  they  had  to  be 
watered  out  of  the  calabashes  or  drinking-cups  of 
the  Indians. 

At  two  o'clock  we  returned  to  the  casa  real.  We 
had  "  done  up"  another  ruined  city,  and  were  ready 
to  set  out  again ;  but  we  had  one  serious  impedi- 
ment in  the  way.  I  have  mentioned  that  on  our 
arrival  at  this  place  we  gave  Albino  a  dollar,  but  I 
omitted  to  say  that  it  was  our  last.  On  setting  out 
on  this  journey,  we  had  reduced  our  personal  lug- 
gage to  hammocks  and  petaquillas,  the  latter  being 
oblong  straw  baskets  without  fastenings,  unsafe  to 
carry  money  in,  and  silver,  the  only  available  coin, 
was  too  heavy  to  carry  about  the  person.  At  Sa- 
bachshe  we  discovered  that  our  expenses  had  over- 
run our  estimates,  and  sent  Albino  back  to  Nohca- 
cab  with  the  keys  of  our  money  trunk,  and  direc- 
tions to  follow  us  in  all  haste  to  this  place.  The 


A    CRISIS    IN    MONEY    MATTERS.  79 

time  calculated  for  his  overtaking  us  had  passed, 
and  he  did  not  come.  We  should  have  thought 
nothing  of  a  little  delay  but  for  our  pressing  neces- 
sities. Some  accident  might  have  happened  to  him, 
or  the  temptation  might  have  been  too  strong.  Our 
affairs  were  approaching  a  crisis,  and  the  barbarism 
of  the  people  of  the  country  in  matters  of  finance 
was  hurrying  it  on.  If  we  wanted  a  fowl,  food  for 
horses,  or  an  Indian  to  work,  the  money  must  be 
ready  at  the  moment.  Throughout  our  journey  it 
was  the  same  ;  every  order  for  the  purchase  of  an  ar- 
ticle was  null  unless  the  money  accompanied  it. 
Brought  up  under  the  wings  of  credit,  this  system 
was  always  odious  to  us.  We  could  attempt  no- 
thing on  a  liberal  and  enlightened  scale,  were  always 
obliged  to  calculate  our  means,  and  could  incur  no 
expense  unless  we  had  the  money  to  defray  it  on 
the  spot.  This,  of  course,  trammelled  enterprise, 
and  now,  on  a  mere  miscalculation,  we  were  brought 
suddenly  to  a  stand  still.  On  counting  the  scatter- 
ing medios  of  private  stock,  we  found  that  we  had 
enough  to  pay  for  transporting  our  luggage  to  the 
village  of  Xul,  but  if  we  tarried  over  the  night  and 
Albino  did  not  come,  both  ourselves  and  our  horses 
must  go  without  rations  in  the  morning,  and  then 
we  should  have  no  means  of  getting  away  our  lug- 
gage. Which  of  the  two  to  choose  ?  Whether  it 
was  better  to  meet  our  fate  at  the  rancho,  or  go  on 
to  the  village  and  trust  to  fortune  1 

In  this  delicate  posture  of  affairs,  we  sat  down  to 


80 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL'. 


one  of  Bernaldo's  best  miscellaneous  preparations 
of  fowls,  rice,  and  frigoles,  and  finished  the  last  meal 
that  we  were  able  to  pay  for.  This  over,  we  had 
recom'se  to  a  small  paper  of  Havana  cigars,  three  in 
number,  containing  the  last  of  our  stock,  reserved 
for  some  extraordinary  occasion.  Satisfied  that  no 
occasion  could  offer  when  we  should  be  more  in 
need  of  extraneous  support,  we  lighted  them  and 
sat  down  under  the  arbour,  and,  as  the  smoke  rolled 
away,  listened  for  the  tread  of  the  trotter.  It  was 
really  perplexing  to  know  what  to  do ;  but  it  was  very 
certain  that  if  we  remained  at  the  rancho,  as  soon 
as  a  medio  was  not  forthcoming  the  moment  it  was 
wanted  we  were  undone.  Our  chance  would  be 
better  at  the  village,  and  we  determined  to  break  up 
and  go  on. 

Leaving  special  charge  for  Albino  to  follow,  at 
three  o'clock  we  set  out.  The  proprietor  accom- 
panied us,  and  at  half  past  five  we  made  a  dashing 
entry  into  the  village  of  Xul,  with  horses,  and  ser- 
vants, and  carriers,  and  just  one  solitary  medio  left. 

The  casa  real  was  the  poorest  we  had  seen  in 
the  country,  and,  under  any  circumstances,  it  was 
not  the  place  for  us,  for,  immediately  on  dismounting, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  order  ramon  and  maize  for 
the  horses,  and  the  money  must  follow  the  order. 
There  was  a  crowd  of  gaping  loungers  around  the 
door,  and  if  we  stopped  at  this  place  we  should  be 
obliged  to  expose  ourselves  at  once,  without  any  op- 


ARRIVAL    AT    THE    VILLAGE    OF    XUL.  81 

portunity  of  telling  our  story  to  advantage,  or  of  ma- 
king friends. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  plaza  was  one  of 
those  buildings  which  had  so  often  sheltered  us  in 
time  of  trouble,  but  now  I  hesitated  to  approach  the 
convent.  The  fame  of  the  cura  of  Xul  had  reached 
our  ears  ;  report  said  that  he  was  rich,  and  a  money- 
making  man,  and  odd.  Among  his  other  posses- 
sions, he  was  lord  of  a  ruined  city  which  we  pro- 
posed to  visit,  particularly  interesting  to  us  from  the 
circumstance  that,  according  to  the  accounts,  it  was 
then  inhabited  by  Indians.  We  wished  to  procure 
from  him  facilities  for  exploring  this  city  to  advan- 
tage, and  doubted  whether  it  would  be  any  recom- 
mendation to  his  favour  as  a  rich  man  to  begin  our 
acquaintance  by  borrowing  money  of  him. 

But,  although  rich,  he  was  a  padre.  Without  dis- 
mounting, I  rode  over  to  the  convent.  The  padre 
came  out  to  meet  me,  and  told  me  that  he  had  been 
expecting  us  every  day.  I  dismounted,  and  he  took 
my  horse  by  the  bridle,  led  him  across  the  corridor, 
through  the  sala,  and  out  to  the  yard.  He  asked 
why  my  companions  did  not  come  over,  and,  at  a 
signal,  in  a  few  minutes  their  horses  followed  mine 
through  the  sala. 

Still  we  were  not  entirely  at  ease.  In  Yucatan, 
as  in  Central  America,  it  is  the  custom  for  a  travel- 
ler, whether  he  ahghts  at  the  casa  real,  convent,  or 
the  hacienda  of  a  friend,  to  buy  ramon  and  maize 
for  his  horses  ;  and  it  is  no  lack  of  hospitahty  in  the 

Vol.  IL— L 


82 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


host,  after  providing  a  place  for  the  beasts,  to  pay  no 
more  attention  to  them.  Tiiis  might  have  brought  on 
a  prematm*e  explanation  ;  but  presently  four  Indians 
appeared,  each  w^ith  a  great  back-load  of  ramon. 
We  ventured  to  give  a  hint  about  maize,  and  in  a 
moment  all  anxiety  about  our  horses  was  at  an  end, 
and  we  had  the  whole  evening  to  manage  for  our- 
selves. 

Don  Jose  Gulielmo  Roderigues,  the  cura  of  Xul, 
was  a  Guachapino,  or  native  of  Old  Spain,  of  which, 
like  all  the  old  Spaniards  in  the  country,  he  was 
somewhat  proud.  He  was  educated  a  Franciscan 
friar  ;  but  thirty  years  before,  on  account  of  the  rev- 
olutions and  the  persecution  of  his  order,  he  fled 
from  Spain,  and  took  refuge  in  Yucatan.  On  the 
destruction  of  the  Franciscan  Convent  in  Merida, 
and  the  breaking  up  of  the  Franciscan  monks,  he 
secularized,  and  entered  the  regular  church ;  had 
been  cura  of  Ticul  and  Nohcacab  ;  and  about  ten 
years  before  had  been  appointed  to  the  district  of 
Xul.  His  curacy  was  one  of  those  called  benefi- 
ciaries ;  i.  e.,  in  consideration  of  building  the  church, 
keeping  it  in  repair,  and  performing  the  duties  and 
services  of  a  priest,  the  capitation  tax  paid  by  the 
Indians,  and  the  fees  allowed  for  baptism,  marriages, 
masses,  salves,  and  funeral  services,  after  deducting 
one  seventh  for  the  Church,  belonged  to  himself  per- 
sonally. At  the  time  of  his  appointment,  the  place 
now  occupied  by  the  village  was  a  mere  Indian  ran- 
cho.    The  land  comprehended  in  his  district  was, 


CURA    OF  XUL. 


83 


in  general,  good  for  maize,  but,  like  all  the  rest  of 
that  region,  it  was  destitute  of  water,  or,  at  least,  but 
badly  supplied.  His  first  object  had  been  to  remedy 
this  deficiency,  to  which  end  he  had  dug  a  well  two 
hundred  feet  deep,  at  an  expense  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars.  Besides  this,  he  had  large  and  substantial 
cisterns,  equal  to  any  we  had  seen  in  the  country,  for 
the  reception  of  rain-water ;  and,  by  furnishing  this 
necessary  of  life  in  abundance,  he  had  drawn  around 
him  a  population  of  seven  thousand. 

But  to  us  there  was  something  more  interesting 
than  this  creation  of  a  village  and  a  population  in 
the  wilderness,  for  here,  again,  was  the  same  strange 
mingling  of  old  things  with  new.  The  village  stands 
on  the  site  of  an  aboriginal  city.  In  the  corner  of 
the  plaza  now  occupied  by  the  cura's  house,  the 
yard  of  which  contains  the  well  and  cisterns,  once 
stood  a  pyramidal  mound  with  a  building  upon  it. 
The  cura  had  himself  pulled  down  this  mound,  and 
levelled  it  so  that  nothing  was  left  to  indicate  even 
the  place  where  it  stood.  With  the  materials  he 
had  built  the  house  and  cisterns,  and  portions  of  the 
ancient  edifice  now  formed  the  walls  of  the  new. 
With  singular  good  taste,  showing  his  practical  turn 
of  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  a  vein  of  antiquarian 
feeling,  he  had  fixed  in  conspicuous  places,  when 
they  answered  his  purpose,  many  of  the  old  carved 
stones.  The  convent  and  church  occupied  one  side 
of  the  plaza ;  along  the  corridor  of  the  former  was 
a  long  seat  of  time-polished  stones  taken  from  the 


84 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ruins  of  an  ancient  building,  and  in  every  quarter 
might  be  seen  these  memorials  of  the  past,  connect- 
ing links  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  serv- 
ing to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the  fact,  v^hich,  but 
for  them,  w^ould  in  a  few  years  be  forgotten,  that  on 
this  spot  once  stood  an  ancient  Indian  city. 

But  the  work  upon  which  the  padre  prided  him- 
self most,  and  which,  perhaps,  did  him  most  credit, 
was  the  church.  It  was  one  of  the  few^  the  erection 
of  which  had  been  undertaken  of  late  years,  when 
the  time  had  gone  by  for  devoting  the  labour  of  a 
whole  village  to  such  works  ;  and  it  presents  a  com- 
bination of  simplicity,  convenience,  and  good  taste, 
in  better  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  than  the 
gigantic  but  tottering  structures  in  the  other  villages, 
while  it  is  not  less  attractive  in  the  eyes  of  the  In- 
dians. The  cura  employed  an  amanuensis  to  write 
out  a  description  of  the  church,  as  he  said,  for  me 
to  publish  in  my  work,  which,  however,  I  am  obli- 
ged to  omit,  mentioning  only  that  over  the  principal 
altar  were  sixteen  columns  from  the  ruins  at  the 
ranclw  of  Nohcacab,  which  were  the  next  we  pro- 
posed to  visit. 

During  the  evening  we  had  a  levee  of  all  the 
principal  white  inhabitants,  to  the  number  of  about 
six  or  eight.  Among  them  was  the  proprietor  of 
the  rancho  and  ruins  of  Nohcacab,  to  whom  we 
were  introduced  by  the  cura,  with  a  tribute  to  our 
antiquarian,  scientific,  and  medical  attainments, 
which  showed  an  appreciation  of  merit  it  was  sel- 


A    WELCOME  ARRIVAL. 


85 


dom  our  good  fortune  to  meet  with.  The  proprie- 
tor could  give  us  very  httle  information  about  the 
ruins,  but  undertook  to  make  all  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  our  exploration  of  them,  and  to  ac- 
company us  himself 

At  that  moment  we  stood  upon  a  giddy  height. 
To  ask  the  loan  of  a  few  dollars  might  lower  us 
materially.  The  evening  was  wearing  away  with- 
out any  opportunity  of  entering  upon  this  interest- 
ing subject,  when,  to  our  great  satisfaction,  we  heard 
the  clattering  of  horses'  hoofs,  and  Albino  made  his 
appearance.  The  production  of  a  bag  of  dollars 
fixed  us  in  our  high  position,  and  we  were  able  to 
order  Indians  for  the  rancho  of  Nohcacab  the  next 
day.  We  finished  the  evening  with  a  warm  bath 
in  a  hand-basin,  under  the  personal  direction  of  the 
cura,  which  reheved  somewhat  the  burning  of  gar- 
rapata  bites,  and  then  retired  to  our  hammocks. 

8 


86 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Journey  to  the  Rancho  of  Nohcacab. — A  Fountain  and  Seybo 
Tree. — Arrival  at  the  Rancho. — Its  Appearance. — A  sick  Trio. 
— Effects  of  a  good  Breakfast. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Terrace 
and  Buildings. — Three  other  Buildings. — Character  of  these 
Ruins. — Disappointment. — Return  to  Xul. — Visit  to  another  ru- 
ined City. — Ruined  Building. — An  Arch,  plastered  and  covered 
Vi^ith  Painted  Figures. — Other  Paintings. — Subterranean  Well. 
—Return  to  the  Village. — Journey  to  Ticul. — Large  Mounds. — 
Passage  of  the  Sierra. — Grand  View. —Arrival  at  Ticul. — A  Vil- 
lage Festival. — Ball  of  the  Mestizas. — Costumes.— Dance  of 
the  Toros. — Lassoing  Cattle.— Ball  by  Daylight. — The  Fiscales. 
— Ludicrous  Scene. — A  Dance. — Love  in  a  Phrensy. — A  unique 
Breakfast. — Close  of  the  Ball. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  set  out  for  the  ran- 
cho of  Nohcacab,  three  leagues  distant.  The  pro- 
prietor had  gone  before  dajhght,  to  receive  us  on 
the  ground.  We  had  not  gone  far  when  Mr.  C. 
complained  of  a  slight  headache,  and  wishing  to  ride 
moderately,  Dr.  Cabot  and  myself  went  on,  leav- 
ing him  to  follow  with  the  luggage.  The  morning 
■air  was  fresh  and  invigorating,  and  the  country  roll- 
ing, hilly,  and  picturesque.  At  the  distance  of  two 
leagues  we  reached  what  was  called  a  hebe,  or  fount- 
ain. It  was  a  large  rocky  basin,  about  ninety  feet 
in  circumference  and  ten  feet  deep,  which  served  as 
a  receptacle  for  rain-water.  In  that  dry  country  it 
was  a  grateful  spectacle,  and  beside  it  was  a  large 


RANCHOOF  NOHCACAB. 


87 


seybo  tree,  that  seemed  inviting  the  traveller  to  re- 
pose under  its  branches.  We  watered  our  horses 
from  the  same  waccal,  or  drinking  cup,  that  w^e  used 
ourselves,  and  felt  strongly  tempted  to  take  a  bath, 
but,  v^^ith  our  experience  of  fever  and  ague,  were 
afraid  to  run  the  risk.  This  fountain  was  a  league 
from  the  rancho  to  which  we  were  going,  and  was 
the  only  watering-place  for  its  inhabitants. 

At  nine  o'clock  we  reached  the  rancho,  which 
showed  the  truth  of  the  Spanish  proverb,  "  La  vista 
del  amo  engorda  el  caballo  "  The  sight  of  the  mas- 
ter fattens  the  horse."  The  first  huts  were  enclosed 
by  a  well-built  stone  wall,  along  which  appeared,  in 
various  places,  sculptured  fragments  from  the  ruins. 
Beyond  was  another  wall,  enclosing  the  hut  occu- 
pied by  the  master  on  his  visits  to  the  rancho,  the  en- 
trance to  which  was  by  a  gateway  formed  of  two 
sculptured  monuments  of  curious  design  and  excel- 
lent workmanship,  raising  high  our  expectations  in 
regard  to  the  ruins  on  this  rancho,  and  sustaining  the 
accounts  we  had  heard  of  them. 

The  proprietor  was  waiting  to  receive  us,  and, 
having  taken  possession  of  an  empty  hut,  and  dis- 
posed of  our  horses,  we  accompanied  him  to  look 
over  the  rancho.  What  he  regarded  as  most  worth 
showing  was  his  tobacco  crop,  lying  in  some  empty 
huts  to  dry,  which  he  contemplated  with  great  sat- 
isfaction, and  the  well,  which  he  looked  at  with  as 
much  sorrow.  It  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-four 
feet  deep,  and  even  at  this  great  depth  it  was  dry. 


88 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


While  we  were  thus  engaged,  our  baggage  car- 
riers arrived  with  intelligence  that  Mr.  Catherwood 
was  taken  ill,  and  they  had  left  him  lying  in  the 
road.  I  immediately  applied  to  the  proprietor  for  a 
coche  and  Indians,  and  he,  with  great  alacrity,  un- 
dertook to  get  them  ready ;  in  the  mean  time  I  sad- 
dled my  horse  and  hastened  back  to  Mr.  Cather- 
wood, whom  I  found  lying  on  the  ground,  with  Al- 
bino by  his  side,  under  the  shade  of  the  tree  by  the 
fountain,  with  an  ague  upon  him,  wrapped  up  in  all 
the  coverings  he  could  muster,  even  to  the  saddle- 
cloths of  the  horses.  While  he  was  in  this  state, 
two  men  came  along,  bestriding  the  same  horse,  and 
bringing  sheets  and  ponchas  to  make  a  covering  for 
the  coche  ;  then  came  a  straggling  line  of  Indians, 
each  with  a  long  pole,  and  withes  to  lash  them  to- 
gether ;  and  it  was  more  than  an  hour  before  the 
coche  was  ready.  The  path  was  narrow,  and  lined 
on  each  side  with  thorn  bushes,  the  spikes  of  which 
stuck  in  the  naked  flesh  of  the  Indians  as  they  car- 
ried the  coche,  and  they  were  obliged  to  stop  fre- 
quently and  disentangle  themselves.  On  reaching 
the  rancho  I  found  Doctor  Cabot  down  with  a  fever. 
From  the  excitement  and  anxiety  of  following  Mr. 
Catherwood  under  the  hot  sun,  and  now  finding 
Doctor  Cabot  down,  a  cold  shivering  crept  over  me, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  all  three  in  our  ham- 
mocks. A  few  hours  had  made  a  great  change  in 
our  condition  ;  and  we  came  near  bringing  our  host 
down  with  us.   He  had  been  employed  in  preparing 


VISIT    TO    THE  RUINS. 


89 


breakfast  upon  a  large  scale,  and  seemed  mortified 
that  there  was  no  one  to  do  it  justice.  Out  of  pure 
good  feeling  toward  him,  I  had  it  brought  to  the  side 
of  my  hammock.  My  effort  made  him  happy,  and  I 
began  to  think  my  prostration  was  merely  the  reac- 
tion from  over-excitement ;  and  by  degrees  what  I 
began  to  please  our  host  1  continued  for  my  own 
satisfaction.  The  troubles  of  my  companions  no 
longer  disturbed  me.  My  equanimity  was  perfectly 
restored,  and,  breakfast  over,  I  set  out  to  look  at  the 
ruins. 

Ever  since  our  arrival  in  Yucatan  we  had  re- 
ceived courtesies  and  civiUties,  but  none  more  thor- 
ough than  those  bestowed  by  our  host  of  Nohcacab. 
He  had  come  out  with  the  intention  of  passing  a 
week  with  us,  and  the  Indians  and  the  whole  rancho 
were  at  our  service  as  long  as  we  chose  to  remain. 

Passing  through  one  of  the  huts,  we  soon  came 
to  a  hill  covered  with  trees  and  very  steep,  up  which 
the  proprietor  had  cut,  not  a  mere  Indian  path,  but 
a  road  two  or  three  yards  wide,  leading  to  a  build- 
ing standing  upon  a  terrace  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 
The  facade  above  the  cornice  had  fallen,  and  below 
it  was  of  plain  stone.  The  interior  was  entire,  but 
without  any  distinguishing  features.  Following  the 
brow  of  this  hill,  we  came  to  three  other  build- 
ings, all  standing  on  the  same  range,  and  without 
any  important  variations  in  the  details,  except  that 
in  one  the  arch  had  no  overlapping  stone,  but  the 
two  sides  of  the  ceiling  ran  up  to  a  point,  and 

Vol.  IL— M 


90 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


formed  a  complete  angle.  These,  the  Indians  told 
us,  were  the  only  buildings  that  remained.  That 
from  which  the  pillars  in  the  church  at  Xul  were 
taken  was  a  mere  mass  of  ruins.  I  was  extremely 
disappointed.  From  the  accounts  which  had  in- 
duced us  to  visit  this  place,  we  had  made  larger  cal- 
culations. It  was  the  first  time  I  had  been  thorough- 
ly disappointed.  There  were  no  subjects  for  the 
pencil,  and,  except  the  deep  and  abiding  impression 
of  moving  among  the  deserted  structures  of  another 
ruined  and  desolate  city,  there  was  nothing  to  carry 
away.  The  proprietor  seemed  mortified  that  he  had 
not  better  ruins  to  show  us,  but  I  gave  him  to  under- 
stand that  it  was  not  his  fault,  and  that  he  was  in  no- 
wise to  blame.  Nevertheless,  it  was  really  vexatious, 
with  such  good- will  on  his  part,  and  such  a  troop  of 
Indians  at  command,  that  there  was  nothing  for  us 
to  do.  The  Indians  sympathized  in  the  mortifica- 
tion of  their  master,  and,  to  indemnify  me,  told  me 
of  two  other  ruined  cities,  one  of  which  was  but 
two  leagues  from  the  village  of  Xul. 

I  returned  and  made  my  report,  and  Mr.  Cath- 
erwood  immediately  proposed  a  return  to  the  village. 
Albino  had  given  him  an  alarming  account  of  the 
unhealthiness  of  the  rancho,  and  he  considered  it 
advisable  to  avoid  sleeping  there  a  single  night. 
Doctor  Cabot  was  sitting  up  in  his  hammock,  dis- 
secting a  bird.  A  recurrence  of  fever  might  detain 
us  some  time,  and  we  determined  on  returning  im- 
mediately to  Xul.    Our  decision  was  carried  into 


RETURN    TO    XUL.  MORE    RUINS.  91 

execution  as  promptly  as  it  was  made,  and,  leaving 
our  lu2:gage  to  the  care  of  Albino,  in  half  an  hour, 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  Indians  and  the  mortifi- 
cation of  the  proprietor,  we  were  on  our  way  to  the 
village. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  we  arrived,  but 
the  cura  received  us  as  kindly  as  before.  Du- 
ring the  evening  I  made  inquiries  for  the  place  of 
which  the  Indians  at  the  rancho  had  told  me.  It 
was  but  two  leagues  distant,  but  of  all  who  happen- 
ed to  drop  in,  not  one  was  aware  of  its  existence. 
The  cura,  however,  sent  for  a  young  man  who  had 
a  rancho  in  that  direction,  and  who  promised  to  ac- 
company me. 

At  six  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  started,  nei- 
ther Mr.  Catherwood  nor  Doctor  Cabot  being  able 
to  accompany  me.  At  the  distance  of  about  two 
leagues  we  reached  an  Indian  rancho,  where  we 
learned  from  an  old  woman  that  we  had  passed  the 
path  leading  to  the  ruins.  We  could  not  prevail  on 
her  to  go  back  and  show  us  the  way,  but  she  gave 
us  a  direction  to  another  rancho,  where  she  said  we 
could  procure  a  guide.  This  rancho  was  situated 
in  a  small  clearing  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  en- 
closed by  a  bush  fence,  and  before  the  door  was  an 
arbour  covered  with  palm  leaves,  with  little  ham- 
mocks swinging  under  it,  and  all  together  the  picture 
of  Indian  comfort. 

My  companion  went  in,  and  I  dismounted,  think- 
ing that  this  promised  a  good  stopping-place,  when, 


92  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

looking  down,  I  saw  my  pantaloons  brown  with 
garrapatas.  I  laid  hold  of  a  twig,  intending  to 
switch  them  off,  and  hundreds  fell  upon  my  hand 
and  arm.  Getting  rid  of  those  in  sight  as  well  as  I 
could,  and  mounting  immediately,  I  rode  off,  hoping 
most  earnestly  not  to  find  any  ruins,  nor  any  neces- 
sity of  taking  up  our  abode  in  this  comfortable-seem- 
ing raucho. 

We  were  fortunate  in  finding  at  this  place  an  In- 
dian, who,  for  reasons  known  to  himself  and  the  wife 
of  the  master,  was  making  a  visit  during  the  absence 
of  the  latter  at  his  milpa ;  but  for  which  we  should 
not  have  been  able  to  procure  a  guide.  Retracing 
our  steps,  and  crossing  the  camino  real,  we  entered 
the  woods  on  the  other  side,  and  tying  our  horses, 
the  Indian  cut  a  path  up  the  side  of  a  hill,  on  the 
top  of  which  were  the  ruins  of  a  building.  The 
outer  wall  had  fallen,  leaving  exposed  to  view  the 
inner  half  of  the  arch,  by  which,  as  w  e  approached 
it,  my  attention  was  strongly  attracted.  This  arch 
was  plastered  and  covered  with  painted  figures  in 
profile,  much  mutilated,  but  in  one  place  a  row  of 
legs  remained,  which  seemed  to  have  belonged  to  a 
procession,  and  at  the  first  glance  brought  to  my 
mind  the  funeral  processions  on  the  walls  of  the 
tombs  at  Thebes.  In  the  triangular  wall  forming 
the  end  of  the  room  were  three  compartments,  in 
which  were  figures,  some  having  their  heads  adorned 
with  plumes,  others  Avith  a  sort  of  steeple  cap,  and 
carrying  on  their  heads  something  like  a  basket ; 


PAINTINGS. 


93 


and  two  were  standing  on  their  hands  with  their 
heels  in  the  air.  These  figures  were  about  a  foot 
high,  and  painted  red.  The  drawing  was  good,  the 
attitudes  were  spirited  and  Hfe-hke,  and  altogether, 
even  in  their  mutilated  state,  they  were  by  far  the 
most  interesting  paintings  we  had  seen  in  the  country. 

Another  apartment  had  been  plastered  and  cov- 
ered with  paintings,  the  colours  of  which  were  in 
some  places  still  bright  and  vivid.  In  this  apart- 
ment we  cornered  and  killed  a  snake  five  feet  long, 
and  as  I  threw  it  out  at  the  door  a  strong  picture 
rose  up  before  me  of  the  terrific  scenes  which  must 
have  been  enacted  in  this  region ;  the  cries  of  wo 
that  must  have  ascended  to  Heaven  w^hen  these 
sculptured  and  painted  edifices  were  abandoned,  to 
become  the  dwelling-place  of  vultures  and  serpents. 

There  was  one  other  building,  and  these  two,  mj 
guide  said,  were  all,  but  probably  others  lie  buried  in 
the  woods.  Returning  to  our  horses,  he  led  me  to 
another  extraordinary  subterraneous  well,  which 
probably  furnished  water  to  the  ancient  inhabitants. 
I  looked  into  the  mouth,  and  saw  that  the  first  de- 
scent was  by  a  steep  ladder,  but  had  no  disposition 
to  explore  it. 

In  a  few  minutes  we  mounted  to  return  to  the 
village.  Ruins  were  increasing  upon  us,  to  explore 
which  thoroughly  would  be  the  work  of  years ; 
we  had  but  months,  and  were  again  arrested  by 
illness.  For  some  days,  at  least,  Mr.  Catherwood 
would  not  be  able  to  resume  work.    I  was  really 


94 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


distressed  by  the  magnitude  of  what  was  before 
us,  but,  for  the  present,  we  could  do  nothing,  and 
I  determined  at  once  to  change  the  scene.  The 
festival  of  Ticul  was  at  hand,  and  that  night  it 
was  to  open  with  el  bayle  de  las  Mestizas,  or  the 
Mestiza  ball.  Ticul  lay  in  our  return  route,  nine 
leagues  from  the  village  of  Xul,  but  I  determined  to 
reach  it  that  evening.  My  companion  did  not  sym- 
pathize in  my  humour ;  his  vaquero  saddle  hurt  him, 
and  he  could  not  ride  faster  than  a  walk.  I  had 
need  to  economize  all  my  strength  ;  but  I  took  his 
hard-trotting  horse  and  uneasy  saddle,  and  gave  him 
mine.  Pushing  on,  at  eleven  o'clock  we  reached 
Xul,  where  I  had  my  horse  unsaddled  and  washed, 
ordered  him  a  good  mess  of  corn,  and  two  boiled 
eggs  for  myself  In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Cather- 
^ood  had  a  recurrence  of  fever  and  ague,  and  my 
horse  was  led  away ;  but  the  attack  proved  shght, 
and  I  had  him  brought  out  again.  At  two  o'clock  I 
resumed  my  journey,  with  a  sheet,  a  hammock,  and 
Albino.  The  heat  was  scorching,  and  Albino  would 
have  grumbled  at  setting  out  at  this  hour,  but  he, 
too,  was  ripe  for  the  fiesta  of  Ticul. 

In  an  hour  we  saw  in  the  woods  on  our  right 
large  mounds,  indicating  that  here,  too,  had  once 
stood  an  ancient  city.  I  rode  in  to  look  at  them,  but 
the  buildings  which  had  crowned  them  were  all  fallen 
and  ruined,  and  I  only  gained  an  addition  to  the 
stock  of  garrapatas  already  on  hand.  We  had  not 
heard  of  these  rains  at  the  village,  and,  on  inquiring 
afterward,  I  could  find  no  name  for  them. 


PASSAGE    OF    THE  SIERRA. 


95 


At  the  distance  of  three  leagues  we  commenced 
ascending  the  sierra,  and  for  two  hours  the  road  lay 
over  an  immense  ledge  of  sohd  rock.  Next  to  the 
Mico  Mountain,  it  was  the  worst  range  I  ever  cross- 
ed, but  of  entirely  different  character;  instead  of 
gulhes,  and  holes,  and  walls  of  mud,  it  consisted 
of  naked,  broken  rock,  the  reflection  of  the  sun 
upon  which  was  intense  and  extremely  painful  to 
the  eyes.  In  some  places  it  was  slippery  as  glass. 
I  had  crossed  the  sierra  in  two  different  places  be- 
fore, but  they  were  comparatively  like  the  passage 
of  the  Simplon  with  that  of  San  Bernard  or  San 
Gothard  across  the  Alps.  My  horse's  hoofs  cfettered 
and  rang  at  every  step,  and,  though  strong  and  sure- 
footed, he  stumbled  and  slid  in  a  way  that  was 
painful  and  dangerous  to  both  horse  and  rider ;  in- 
deed, it  would  have  been  an  agreeable  change  to 
be  occasionally  stuck  in  the  mud.  It  was  impossi- 
ble to  go  faster  than  a  walk,  and,  afraid  that  night 
would  overtake  us,  in  which  case,  as  there  was  no 
moon,  we  might  lose  our  way,  I  dismounted  and 
hurried  on,  leading  my  horse. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  we  reached  the  top  of 
the  last  range.  The  view  was  the  grandest  I  had 
seen  in  the  country.  On  the  very  brink  stood  the 
church  of  La  Hermita,  below  the  village  of  Oxcutz- 
cab,  and  beyond  a  boundless  wooded  plain,  dotted 
in  three  places  with  villages.  We  descended  by  a 
steep  and  stony  path,  and,  winding  along  the  front  of 
La  Hermita,  came  upon  a  broad  pavement  of  stones 


96 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


from  the  mined  buildings  of  an  aboriginal  town. 
We  passed  under  an  imposing  gateway,  and,  en- 
tering the  village,  stopped  at  the  first  house  fdr  a 
draught  of  water,  where,  looking  back,  we  saw  the 
shades  of  night  gathering  over  the  sierra,  a  token  of 
our  narrow  escape.  There  were  ruined  mounds  in 
the  neighbourhood,  which  I  intended  to  look  at  in 
passing,  but  we  had  still  four  leagues  to  make,  and 
pushed  on.  The  road  was  straight  and  level,  but 
stony,  and  very  soon  it  became  so  dark  that  we 
could  see  nothing.  My  horse  had  done  a  hard 
day's  work,  and  stumbled  so  that  I  could  scarcely 
keep  hiin  from  falling.  We  roused  the  barking  dogs 
of  two  villages,  of  which,  however,  I  could  distin- 
guish nothing  but  the  outline  of  their  gigantic 
churches,  and  at  nine  o'clock  rode  into  the  plaza  of 
Ticul.  It  was  crowded  with  Indians,  blazing  with 
lights,  and  occupied  by  a  great  circular  scaffold  for 
a  bull-ring,  and  a  long,  enclosed  arbour,  from  the 
latter  of  which  strains  of  music  gave  notice  that 
the  bayle  de  las  Mestizas  had  already  begun. 

Once  more  I  received  a  cordial  welcome  from 
the  cura  Carillo  ;  but  the  music  from  the  arbour  re- 
minded me  that  the  moments  of  pleasure  were  fleet- 
ing. Our  trunks  had  been  ordered  over  from  Noh- 
cacab,  and,  making  a  hurried  toilet,  I  hastened  to 
the  ball-room,  accompanied  by  the  padre  Brizeiia; 
the  crowd  outside  opened  a  way,  Don  Philippe  Peon 
beckoned  to  me  as  I  entered,  and  in  a  moment 
more  I  was  seated  in  one  of  the  best  places  at 


BALL    OF    THE  MESTIZAS. 


97 


the  bayle  de  las  Mestizas.  After  a  month  in 
Indian  ranchos,  that  day  toiling  among  ruins,  almost 
driven  to  distraction  by  garrapatas,  clambering  over  • 
a  frightful  sierra,  and  making  a  journey  worse  than 
any  sixty  miles  in  our  country,  all  at  once  I  settled 
down  at  a  fancy  ball,  amid  music,  lights,  and 
pretty  women,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  an  arm- 
chair and  a  cigar.  For  a  moment  a  shade  of  regret 
came  over  me  as  I  thought  of  my  invalid  friends, 
but  I  soon  forgot  them. 

The  enramada,  or  enclosure  for  the  ball-room, 
was  an  arbour  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long 
and  fifty  feet  wide,  surrounded  by  a  railing  of  rude 
lattice-work,  covered  with  costal,  or  hemp  bagging, 
as  a  protection  against  the  night  air  and  sun,  and 
hghted  by  lamps  with  large  glass  shades.  The  floor 
was  of  hard  cement ;  along  the  railing  was  a  row  of 
chairs,  all  occupied  by  ladies  ;  gentlemen,  boys,  and 
girls,  children  and  nurses,  were  sitting  promiscuous- 
ly on  the  floor,  and  Don  Philippe  Peon,  when  he 
gave  me  his  chair,  took  a  place  among  them.  El 
bayle  de  las  Mestizas  was  what  might  be  called  a 
fancy  ball,  in  which  the  senoritas  of  the  village  ap- 
peared as  las  Mestizas,  or  in  the  costume  of  Mestiza 
women  :  loose  white  frock,  with  red  worked  border 
round  the  neck  and  skirt,  a  man's  black  hat,  a  blue 
scarf  over  the  shoulder,  gold  necklace  and  bracelets. 
The  young  men  figured  as  vaqueros,  or  major  domos, 
in  shirt  and  pantaloons  of  pink  striped  mushn,  yellow 
buckskin  shoes,  and  low,  round-crowned,  hard-plat- 

VoL.  IL— N  9 


98 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ted  Straw  hat,  with  narrow  brim  rolled  up  at  the  sides, 
aiid  trimmed  with  gold  cord  and  tassels.  Both  cos- 
•tumes  were  fanciful  and  pretty,  but  at  first  the  black 
hat  was  repulsive.  I  had  heard  of  the  sombreros 
negros  as  part  of  the  Mestiza  costume,  and  had  im- 
agined some  neat  and  graceful  fabric  of  straw ;  but 
the  faces  of  the  girls  were  so  soft  and  mild  that  even 
a  man's  hat  could  not  divest  them  of  their  feminine 
charm.  Altogether  the  scene  was  somewhat  differ- 
ent from  what  I  expected,  more  refined,  fanciful,  and 
picturesque. 

To  sustain  the  fancy  character,  the  only  dance 
was  that  of  the  toros.  A  vaquero  stood  up,  and 
each  Mestiza  was  called  out  in  order.  This  dance, 
as  we  had  seen  it  among  the  Indians,  was  extreme- 
ly uninteresting,  and  required  a  movement  of  the 
body,  a  fling  of  the  arms,  and  a  snapping  of  the  fin- 
gers, which  were  at  least  inelegant;  but  with  las 
Mestizas  of  Ticul  it  was  all  graceful  and  pleasing, 
and  there  was  something  particularly  winning  in  the 
snapping  of  the  fingers.  There  were  no  dashing 
beauties,  and  not  one  who  seemed  to  have  any  idea 
of  being  a  belle ;  but  all  exhibited  a  mildness,  soft- 
ness, and  amiabihty  of  expression  that  created  a  feel- 
ing of  promiscuous  tenderness.  Sitting  at  ease  in 
an  arm-chair,  after  my  sojourn  in  Indian  ranchos,  I 
was  particularly  alive  to  these  influences.  And  there 
was  such  a  charm  about  that  Mestiza  dress.  It  was 
so  clean,  simple,  and  loose,  leaving 


LASSOING  CATTLE. 


99 


"  Every  beauty  free 
To  sink  or  swell  as  Nature  pleases." 

The  ball  broke  up  too  soon,  when  I  was  but  begin- 
ning to  reap  the  fruit  of  my  hard  day's  work.  There 
was  an  irruption  of  servants  to  carry  home  the  chairs, 
and  in  half  an  hour,  except  along  a  line  of  tables  in 
front  of  the  audiencia,  the  village  was  still.  For  a 
little  while,  in  my  quiet  chamber  at  the  convent,  the 
gentle  figures  of  las  Mestizas  still  haunted  me,  but, 
worn  down  by  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  I  very  soon 
forgot  them. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  the  ringing  of  bells 
and  firing  of  rockets  announced  the  continuance  of 
the  fiesta ;  high  mass  was  performed  in  the  church, 
and  at  eight  o'clock  there  was  a  grand  exhibition  of 
lassoing  cattle  in  the  plaza  by  amateur  vaqueros. 
These  were  now  mounted,  had  large  vaquero  saddles, 
spurs  to  match,  and  each  was  provided  with  a  coil 
of  rope  in  hand  ;  bulls  of  tAvo  years  old  were  let  loose 
in  the  plaza,  with  the  bull-ring  to  double  round,  and 
every  street  in  the  village  open  to  them.  The  am- 
ateurs rode  after  them  like  mad,  to  the  great  peril  of 
old  people,  women,  and  children,  who  scampered  out 
of  the  way  as  well  as  they  could,  but  all  as  much 
pleased  with  the  sport  as  the  bull  or  the  vaqueros. 
One  horse  fell  and  hurt  his  rider,  but  there  were  no 
necks  broken. 

This  over,  all  dispersed  to  prepare  for  the  bayle 
de  dia,  or  ball  by  daylight.  I  sat  for  an  hour  in  the 
corridor  of  the  convent,  looking  out  upon  the  plaza. 


100 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  sun  was  beaming  with  intense  heat,  and  the 
village  was  as  still  as  if  some  great  calamity  had  sud- 
denly overtaken  it.  At  length  a  group  was  seen 
crossing  the  plaza  :  a  vaquero  escorting  a  Mestiza 
to  the  ball,  holding  over  her  head  a  red  silk  umbrel- 
la to  protect  her  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  ; 
then  an  old  lady  and  gentleman,  children,  and  ser- 
vants, a  complete  family  group,  the  females  all  in 
white,  with  bright-coloured  scarfs  and  shawls.  Oth- 
er groups  appeared  crossing  in  other  directions,  form- 
ing picturesque  and  pleasing  spectacles  in  the  plaza. 
I  walked  over  to  the  arbour.  Although  in  broad 
daylight,  under  the  glare  of  a  midday  sun,  and  sha- 
ded only  on  one  side  by  hemp  bagging,  as  the  Mesti- 
zas  took  their  seats  they  seemed  prettier  than  the 
night  before.  No  adjustment  of  curtain  light  was 
necessary  for  the  morning  after  the  ball,  for  the  ladies 
had  retired  at  an  early  hour.  The  black  hat  had 
lost  its  repugnant  character,  and  on  some  it  seemed 
most  becoming.  The  costumes  of  the  vaqueros,  too, 
bore  well  the  hght  of  day.  The  place  was  open  to 
all  who  chose  to  enter,  and  the  floor  was  covered 
with  Indian  women  and  children,  and  real  Mesti- 
zoes in  cotton  shirts,  drawers,  and  sandals ;  the  bar- 
rier, too,  was  Hned  with  a  dense  mass  of  Indians 
and  Mestizoes,  looking  on  good-humouredly  at  this 
personification  of  themselves  and  their  ways.  The 
whole  gathering  was  more  informal  and  gayer,  and 
seemed  more  what  it  was  intended  to  be,  a  fiesta  of 
the  village. 


BALL    BY  DAYLIGHT. 


101 


The  bajle  de  dia  was  intended  to  give  a  picture 
of  life  at  a  hacienda,  and  there  were  two  prominent 
personages,  who  did  not  appear  the  evening  before, 
called  fiscales,  being  the  officers  attendant  upon  the 
ancient  caciques,  and  representing  them  in  their  au- 
thority over  the  Indians.  These  wore  long,  loose, 
dirty  camisas  hanging  off  one  shoulder,  and  with  the 
sleeves  below  the  hands ;  calzoncillos,  or  drawers, 
to  match,  held  up  by  a  long  cotton  sash,  the  ends  of 
which  dangled  below  the  knees ;  sandals,  slouching 
straw  hats,  with  brims  ten  or  twelve  inches  wide, 
and  long  locks  of  horse  hair  hanging  behind  their 
ears.  One  of  them  wore  awry  over  his  shoulder  a 
mantle  of  faded  blue  cotton  cloth,  said  to  be  an  heir- 
loom descended  from  an  ancient  cacique,  and  each 
flourished  a  leather  whip  with  eight  or  tea  lashes. 
These  were  the  managers  and  masters  of  ceremo- 
nies, with  absolute  and  unlimited  authority  over  the 
whole  company,  and,  as  they  boasted,  they  had  a 
right  to  whip  the  Mestizas  if  they  pleased. 

As  each  Mestiza  arrived  they  quietly  put  aside 
the  gentleman  escorting  her,  and  conducted  the  lady 
to  her  seat.  If  the  gentleman  did  not  give  way 
readily,  they  took  him  by  the  shoulders,  and  walked 
Mm  to  the  other  end  of  the  floor.  A  crowd  fol- 
lowed wherever  they  moved,  and  all  the  time  the 
company  w^as  assembling  they  threw  everything  into 
laughter  and  confusion  by  their  whimsical  eflbrts  to 
preserve  order. 

At  length  they  undertook  to  clear  a  space  for 


102 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


dancing,  backing  the  company  in  a  summary  way 
as  far  as  they  could  go,  and  then  taking  the  men 
and  boys  by  the  shoulder,  and  jamming  them  down 
upon  the  floor.  While  they  were  thus  engaged,  a 
stout  gentleman,  of  respectable  appearance,  holding 
some  high  office  in  the  village,  appeared  in  the 
doorway,  quietly  lighting  another  straw  cigar,  and 
as  soon  as  they  saw  him  they  desisted  from  the 
work  they  had  in  hand,  and,  in  the  capricious  and 
wanton  exercise  of  their  arbitrary  power,  rushed 
across,  seized  him,  dragged  him  to  the  centre  of 
the  floor,  hoisted  him  upon  the  shoulders  of  a  va7 
quero,  and,  pulling  apart  the  skirts  of  his  coat,  bela- 
boured him  with  a  mock  vigour  and  earnestness  that 
convulsed  the  whole  company  with  laughter.  The 
sides  of  the  elevated  dignitary  shook,  the  vaquero 
shook  under  him,  and  they  were  near  coming  down 
together. 

This  over,  the  rogues  came  directly  upon  me. 
El  Ingles  had  not  long  escaped  their  eye.  I  had 
with  difficulty  avoided  a  scene,  and  my  time  seemed 
now  to  have  come.  The  one  with  the  cacique's 
mantle  led  the  way  with  long  strides,  lash  raised  in 
the  air,  a  loud  voice,  and  his  eyes,  sparkhng  with 
frolic  and  mischief,  fastened  upon  mine.  The  crowd 
followed,  and  I  was  a  little  afraid  of  an  attempt  to 
hoist  me  too  on  the  shoulders  of  a  vaquero  ;  but  all 
at  once  he  stopped  short,  and,  unexpectedly  changing 
his  language,  opened  upon  me  with  a  loud  harangue 
in  Maya.   All  knew  that  I  did  not  understand  a  word 


A    LUDICROUS  SCENE. 


103 


he  said,  and  the  laugh  was  strong  against  me.  I  was 
a  httle  annoyed  at  being  made  such  a  mark,  but,  rec- 
ollecting the  achievement  of  our  vernacular  at  Noh- 
cacab,  I  answered  him  with  an  English  oration.  The 
effect  was  instantaneous.  He  had  never  before  heardl^ 
a  language  that  he  could  not  understand,  bent  his 
ear  earnestly,  as  if  by  close  attention  he  could  catch 
the  meaning,  and  looked  up  with  an  air  of  real  per- 
plexity that  turned  the  laugh  completely  against  him. 
He  began  again,  and  I  answered  with  a  stanza  of 
Greel^  poetry,  which  had  hung  by  me  in  some  un- 
accountable way ;  this,  again,  completely  silenced 
him,  and  he  dropped  the  title  Ingles,  put  his  arms 
around  my  neck,  called  me  "  amigo,"  and  made  a 
covenant  not  to  speak  in  any  language  but  Castilian. 

This  over,  he  ordered  the  music  to  commence, 
planted  a  vaquero  on  the  floor,  and  led  out  a  Mes- 
tiza  to  dance,  again  threw  all  the  bystanders  into 
confusion,  and  sat  down  quietly  on  the  floor  at  my 
feet.  AU  the  Mestizas  were  again  called  out  in 
order,  presenting  the  same  pretty  spectacle  I  had 
seen  the  evening  before.  And  there  was  one  whom 
I  had  noticed  then,  not  more  than  fifteen,  dehcate 
and  fragile,  with  eyes  so  soft  and  dovelike  that  it 
was  impossible  to  look  upon  them  without  a  feel- 
ing of  tenderness.  She  seemed  sent  into  the  world 
to  be  cherished  and  cared  for,  and  closeted  like  the 
finest  china,  the  very  emblem  of  purity,  innocence, 
and  loveliness ;  and,  as  I  had  learned,  she  was  the 
child  of  shame,  being  the  crianza,  or  natural  daugh- 


104  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ter,  of  a  gentleman  of  the  village ;  perhaps  it  was 
that  she  seemed  so  ill  fitted  to  buffet  with  contume- 
ly and  reproach  that  gave  such  an  indescribable 
interest  to  her  appearance  ;  but,  fortunately,  brought 
^up  in  her  father's  house,  she  may  go  through  life 
without  meeting  an  averted  face,  or  feeling  that  a 
stain  rests  upon  her  name. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  presence  of  this  senori- 
ta  on  the  floor  did  not  escape  the  keen  eyes  of 
the  mercurial  fiscal.    All  at  once  he  became  ex- 
cited and  restless,  and,  starting  to  his  feet,  gazed 
at  her  for  a  moment  as  if  entranced  by  a  vision, 
and  then,  as  if  carried  away  by  his  excitement,  and 
utterly  unconscious  of  what  he  was  about,  he  push- 
ed aside  the  vaquero  who  was  dancing  with  her, 
and,  flinging  his  sombrero  on  the  ground,  cried  out 
in  a  tone  of  ecstacy,  "  Voy  baylar  con  vd,  mi  cora- 
zon  !"  "  I  am  going  to  dance  with  you,  my  heart !" 
As  he  danced,  his  excitement  seemed  to  increase  ; 
forgetting  everything  around  him,  the  expression  of 
his  face  became  rapt,  fixed,  intense  ;  he  tore  off  his 
cacique's  mantle,  and,  dancing  toward  her,  spread 
it  at  the  lady's  feet.    This  seemed  only  to  excite 
him  more ;  and,  as  if  forgetful  of  everything  else,  he 
seized  the  collar  of  his  camisa,  and,  dancing  violent- 
ly all  the  time,  with  a  nervous  grasp,  tugged  as  if 
he  meant  to  pull  it  over  his  head,  and  throw  all  that 
he  was  worth  at  her  feet.    Failing  in  this,  for  a  mo- 
ment he  seemed  to  give  up  in  despair,  but  all  at 
once  he  thrust  his  hands  under  the  long  garment, 


LOVE    IN    A  PHRENSY. 


105 


seized  the  sash  around  his  waist,  and,  still  dancing 
with  all  his  might,  unwound  it,  and,  moving  up  to 
her  with  mingled  grace,  gallantry,  and  desperation, 
dropped  it  at  her  feet,  and  danced  back  to  his  place. 
By  this  time  his  calzoncillos,  kept  up  by  the  sash, 
were  giving  way.  Grasping  them  furiously,  and 
holding  them  up  with  both  hands,  as  if  by  a  great 
effort,  he  went  on  dancing  with  a  desperate  expres- 
sion of  face  that  was  irresistibly  ludicrous. 

During  all  this  time  the  company  was  convulsed 
with  laughter,  and  I  could  not  help  remarking  the 
extreme  modesty  and  propriety  of  the  young  lady, 
who  never  even  smiled  or  looked  at  him,  but,  when 
the  dance  was  ended,  bowed  and  returned  to  her 
seat.  The  poor  fiscal  stood  gazing  at  the  vacant 
place  where  she  had  stood,  as  if  the  sun  of  his  ex- 
istence had  set.  At  length  he  turned  his  head  and 
called  out  "  amigo,"  asked  if  there  were  any  such 
Mestizas  in  my  country  ;  if  I  would  like  to  take 
her  home  with  me  ;  then  said  that  he  could  not  spare 
this  one,  but  I  might  take  my  choice  of  the  others ; 
insisting  loudly  upon  my  making  a  selection,  and 
promising  to  deliver  any  one  I  liked  to  me  at  the 
convent. 

At  first  I  supposed  that  these  fiscales  were,  like 
the  vaqueros,  the  principal  young  men  of  the  vil- 
lage, who,  for  that  day,  gave  themselves  up  to  froHc 
and  fun,  but  I  learned  that  these  were  not  willing  to 
assume  such  a  character,  but  employed  others  known 
to  them  for  wit  and  humour,  and,  at  the  same  time, 

Vol.  TI.-^O 


106 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


for  propriety  and  respectability  of  behaviour.  This 
was  a  matador  de  cochinos,  or  pig  butcher,  of  excel- 
lent character,  and  mmj  vivo,  by  which  may  be  un- 
derstood "  a  fellow  of  infinite  wit  and  humour."  The 
people  of  the  village  seemed  to  think  that  the  pow- 
er given  him  to  whip  the  Mestizas  was  the  extremity 
of  license,  but  they  did  not  consider  that,  even  for 
the  day,  they  put  him  on  equal  terms  with  those 
who,  in  his  daily  walks,  were  to  him  as  beings  of 
another  sphere  ;  for  the  time  he  might  pour  out  his 
tribute  of  feeling  to  beauty  and  attraction,  but  it 
was  all  to  be  regarded  as  a  piece  of  extravagance, 
to  be  forgotten  by  all  who  heard  it,  and  particularly 
by  her  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  Alas,  poor  ma- 
tador de  cochinos ! 

According  to  the  rules,  the  mantle  and  sash  which 
he  had  thrown  at  the  feet  of  the  lady  belonged  to 
her,  and  he  was  obliged  to  appeal  to  the  charity  of 
the  spectators  for  money  to  redeem  them.  In  the 
mean  time  the  dance  continued.  The  fiscales,  hav- 
ing once  taken  ground  as  dancers,  were  continually 
ordering  the  vaqueros  to  step  aside,  and  taking  their 
places.  At  times,  too,  under  the  direction  of  the 
fiscales,  the  idle  vaqueros  seated  themselves  on  the 
ground  at  the  head  of  the  arbour,  and  all  joined  in 
the  hacienda  song  of  the  vaqueria,  in  alternate  lines 
of  Maya  and  Castilian.  The  chorus  was  led  by  the 
fiscales,  with  a  noise  that  drowned  every  other  sound; 
and  while  this  boisterous  merriment  was  going  on, 


A    UNIQUE  BREAKFAST. 


107 


the  light  figures  of  the  Mestizas  were  moving  in  the 
dance. 

At  twelve  o'clock  preparations  were  made  for  a 
dejeuner  a  la  fourchette,  dispensing,  however,  with 
knives  and  forks.  The  centre  of  the  floor  was 
cleared,  and  an  enormous  earthen  jar,  equal  in  ca- 
pacity to  a  barrel,  was  brought  in,  containing  frigo- 
les,  or  black  beans  fried.  Another  vessel  of  the  same 
size  had  a  preparation  of  eggs  and  meat,  and  near 
them  was  a  small  mountain  of  tortillas,  with  all 
which  it  was  the  business  of  the  Mestizas  to  serve 
the  company.  The  fiscal  did  not  neglect  his  ami- 
go,  but  led  to  me  one  of  whom  I  had  expressed  my 
opinion  to  him  in  confidence,  and  who  brought  in 
the  paljn  of  her  hand  a  layer  of  tortillas,  with  frigo- 
les  in  the  centre,  and  turned  up  at  the  sides  by  means 
of  the  fingers,  so  as  to  prevent  the  frigoles  from  es- 
caping. An  attempt  to  acknowledge  the  civility 
was  repressed  by  the  fiscal,  who  crowded  my  hat 
over  my  eyes,  saying  that  they  passed  no  compli- 
ments on  the  haciendas,  and  we  were  all  Indians 
together.  The  tortillas,  with  the  frigoles  in  them, 
were  not  easy  to  hold  without  endangering  my  only 
pair  of  white  pantaloons.  I  relieved  myself  by  pass- 
ing them  over  the  railing,  where  any  number  of  In- 
dians stood  ready  to  receive  them ;  but  1  had  hard- 
ly got  rid  of  this  when  another  Mestiza  brought  an- 
other portion,  and  while  this  engaged  my  one  hand 
a  third  placed  tortillas  with  eggs  in  the  other,  and 
left  me  afraid  to  move;  but  I  contrived  to  pass 


108  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

both  handfuls  over  the  raiHng.  Breakfast  over,  the 
dancmg  vs^as  resumed  with  new  spnit.  The  fisca- 
les  were  more  amusing  than  ever ;  all  agreed  that 
the  ball  was  muy  allegre,  or  very  gay,  and  I  could 
not  but  notice  that,  amid  all  this  motley  company 
and  extraordinary  license,  there  was  less  noise  than 
in  a  private  drawing-room  at  home.  At  two  o'clock, 
to  my  great  regret,  the  ball  of  las  Mestizas  broke 
up.  It  was  something  entirely  new,  and  remains 
engraven  on  my  mind  as  the  best  of  village  balls. 


BULL-FIGHTS. 


109 


CHAPTER  VL 

Bull-fights. — Horse-race. — Bull-fighters. — Their  villanous  Appear- 
ance.— Death  of  a  Bull. — A  Ball  of  Etiquette. — Society  in  Yu- 
catan.— Costumes  at  the  Ball. — More  Bull-fights.— A  Mestiza. 
— Scenes  in  the  Bull-ring. — A  Storm. — Dispersion  of  the  Spec- 
tators.— A  Discovery. — A  new  Reformation  in  Yucatan. — Celi- 
bacy of  Priests. — A  few  Words  about  the  Padres. — Arrival  of  Mr. 
Catherwood  and  Dr.  Cabot. — Rain. — Daguerreotyping. — "The 
Ancient  Chronology  of  Yucatan." — Don  Pio  Perez.— Calendar 
of  the  Ancient  Indians. — Substantially  the  same  with  that  of  the 
Mexicans. — This  Fact  tends  to  show  the  common  Origin  of  the 
aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico. 

In  the  afternoon  commenced  the  first  bull-fight. 
The  bull-fights  of  Ticul  had  a  great  reputation 
throughout  the  country.  At  the  last,  a  toreador  was 
killed,  which  gave  a  promise  of  something  exciting. 
The  young  men  of  the  village  still  appeared  in 
character  as  vaqueros,  and  before  the  fight  they  had 
a  horse-race,  which  consisted  in  riding  across  the 
ring,  one  at  a  time,  in  at  one  door  and  out  at  the 
other,  and  then  racing  in  the  same  way  through  the 
other  two  doors.  It  was  a  fine  opportunity  for  ex- 
hibiting horses  and  horsemanship,  and  was  a  sort  of 
pony  scamper. 

After  these  came  the  toreadores,  or  bull-fighters, 
who,  to  do  them  justice,  were  by  far  the  worst-look- 

10 


110 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ing  men  I  saw  in  the  country,  or  anywhere  else,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  the  hbellous  representatives  of  the 
twelve  apostles  in  the  feet-washing  scene,  at  which 
I  was  once  a  spectator  in  Jerusalem.  They  were 
of  a  mixed  blood,  which  makes,  perhaps,  the  worst 
race  known,  viz.,  the  cross  of  the  Indian  and  Afri- 
can, and  called  Pardos.  Their  complexion  is  a 
black  tinge  laid  upon  copper,  and,  not  satisfied  with 
the  bountiful  share  of  ugliness  which  nature  had 
given  them,  these  worthies  had  done  something  for 
themselves  in  the  way  of  costume,  which  was  a  vile 
caricature  of  the  common  European  dress,  with  some 
touches  of  their  own  elegant  fancy.  Altogether,  I 
could  imagine  that  they  had  fitted  themselves  out 
with  the  unclaimed  wardrobe  of  deceased  hospital 
patients.  Their  horses,  being  borrowed  by  the  com- 
mittee of  arrangements,  with  the  understanding  that 
if  killed  they  were  to  be  paid  for,  were  spavined, 
foundered,  one-eyed,  wretched  beasts.  They  had 
saddles  covered  with  scarlet  cloths,  enormous  spurs, 
with  rowels  six  inches  long,  and  murderous  spears, 
discoloured  with  old  stains  of  blood.  The  combina- 
tion of  colours,  particularly  the  scarlet,  was  intended 
to  frighten  the  bull,  and  all  together  they  were  al- 
most enough  to  frighten  el  demonio. 

The  races  over,  the  amateur  vaqueros  led  in  the 
first  bull,  having  two  real  vaqueros  at  hand  for  cases 
of  emergency.  The  toreadores  charged  upon  him 
with  spears  brandished,  and  presenting  a  vivid  pic- 
ture of  the  infernals  let  loose ;  after  which  they  dis- 


BALL    OF  ETIQUETTE. 


Ill 


mounted  and  attacked  him  on  foot.  The  bull  was 
brought  to  bay  directly  under  our  box,  and  twice  I 
saw  the  iron  pass  between  his  horns,  enter  the  back 
of  his  neck  with  a  dull,  grating  sound,  and  come 
out  bloody,  leaving  a  ghastly  wound.  At  the  third 
blow  the  bull  staggered,  struggled  to  sustain  him- 
self on  his  feet,  but  fell  back  on  his  haunches,  and, 
with  a  feeble  bellow,  rolled  over  on  his  side;  blood 
streamed  from  his  mouth,  his  tongue  hung  out  on  the 
ground  covered  with  dust,  and  in  a  few  moments  he 
was  dead.  The  amateurs  tied  his  hind  legs,  ropes 
were  fastened  to  the  saddles  of  two  horsemen,  oth- 
ers took  hold,  and  as  the  carcase  was  dragged  across 
the  ring,  a  fair  and  gentle-voiced  neighbour  said,  in 
a  tone  of  surprise,  "  Dos  caballos  y  seis  Christia- 
nos  !"  "  Two  horses  and  six  Christians  !" 

I  omit  the  rest.  From  the  bull-fight  we  again 
went  to  the  ball,  which,  in  the  evening,  was  the 
bayle  del  etiquette,  no  gentleman  being  admitted 
without  pantaloons.  Society  in  Yucatan  stands 
upon  an  aristocratic  footing.  It  is  divided  into  two 
great  classes  :  those  who  wear  pantaloons,  and  those 
who  do  not ;  the  latter,  and  by  far  the  most  numer- 
ous body,  going  in  calconcillos,  or  drawers.  The 
high-handed  regulation  of  the  ball  of  etiquette  was 
aimed  at  them,  and  excluded  many  of  our  friends 
of  the  morning  ;  but  it  did  not  seem  to  give  any  of- 
fence, the  excluded  quietly  taking  their  places  at  the 
outside  of  the  railing.  El  matador  de  cochinos,  or 
the  pig  butcher,  was  admitted  in  drawers,  but  as  as- 


112  INCIDExNTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

sistant  to  the  servants,  handing  refreshments  to  the 
ladies  he  had  danced  with  in  the  morning.  The 
whole  aspect  of  things  was  changed  ;  the  vaqueros 
w^ere  in  dress  suits,  or  such  undress  as  w^as  not  un- 
becoming at  a  village  ball.  The  senoritas  had 
thrown  aside  their  simple  Mestiza  dresses,  and  ap- 
peared in  tunicas,  or  frocks,  made  to  fit  the  figure, 
or,  rather,  to  cut  the  figure  in  two.  The  Indian 
dances  had  disappeared,  and  quadrilles  and  contra- 
dances,  waltzes  and  gallopades,  supplied  their  place. 
It  wanted  the  piquancy  of  the  bajle  de  las  Mesti- 
zas ;  the  young  ladies  were  not  so  pretty  in  their 
more  fashionable  costume.  Still  there  was  the  same 
gentleness  of  expression,  the  dances  were  slow,  the 
music  low  and  soft,  and,  in  the  quiet  and  decorum 
of  all,  it  was  difficult  to  recognise  the  gay  and  tu- 
multuous party  of  the  morning,  and  yet  more  difficult 
to  believe  that  these  gentle  and,  in  some  cases,  lovely 
faces,  had  been  but  a  few  hours  before  lighted  up 
with  the  barbarous  excitement  of  the  bull-ring. 

At  ten  the  next  day  there  was  another  bull-fight ; 
then  a  horse-race  from  the  plaza  down  the  principal 
street  to  the  house  of  Don  Philippe  Peon  ;  and  in 
the  afternoon  yet  another  bull-fight,  which  opened 
for  me  under  pleasant  circumstances.  I  did  not  in- 
tend to  go,  had  not  secured  a  seat,  and  took  my 
place  in  a  box  so  fall  that  I  was  obliged  to  stand  up 
by  the  door.  In  front  was  one  of  the  prettiest  of 
tlie  Mestizas  of  the  ball;  on  her  right  was  a  va- 
cant seat,  and  next  to  this  sat  a  padre,  who  had  just 


A    GATHERING  STORM. 


113 


arrived  at  the  village.  I  w^as  curious  to  know  v^ho 
could  be  the  proprietor  of  the  vacant  seat,  when  the 
gentleman  himself  (an  acquaintance)  entered,  and 
asked  me  to  take  it.  I  did  not  require  much  urging, 
and,  in  taking  it,  turned  first  to  the  padre  to  ac- 
knowledge my  good  fortune  in  obtaining  it,  which 
communication  I  thought  he  did  not  receive  quite 
as  graciously  as  he  might  have  done.  The  corrida 
opened  bravely ;  bulls  were  speared,  blood  flowed, 
and  men  were  tumbled  over.  I  had  never  taken  so 
much  pleasure  in  the  opening  scenes ;  but  a  storm 
was  gathering;  the  heavens  put  on  black;  clouds 
whirled  through  the  air  ;  the  men  stood  up,  seeming 
anxious  and  vexed,  and  the  ladies  were  uneasy 
about  their  mantillas  and  headdresses.  Darkness 
increased,  but  man  and  beast  went  on  fighting  in  the 
ring,  and  it  had  a  wild  and  strange  effect,  with  the 
black  clouds  scudding  above  us,  to  look  from  the 
fierce  struggle  up  to  the  sea  of  anxious  faces  on  the 
other  side  of  the  scaffold,  and  beyond,  over  the  top, 
to  the  brilliant  arch  of  a  rainbow  illuminating  with  a 
single  line  the  blackness  of  the  sky.  I  pointed  out 
the  rainbow  to  the  lady  as  an  indication  that  there 
would  be  no  rain ;  but  the  sign  disappeared,  a  fu- 
rious gust  of  wind  swept  over  the  frail  scaffold,  the 
scalloped  papers  fluttered,  shawls  and  handkerchiefs 
flew,  a  few  drops  of  rain  fell,  and  in  three  minutes 
the  Plaza  de  Toros  was  empty.  I  had  no  umbrel- 
la to  offer  the  lady  ;  some  ill-natured  person  carried 
her  off ;  and  the  matador  de  cochinos  extended  his 
Vol.  IL— P 


114 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ponclia  over  my  head,  and  escorted  me  to  a  house, 
where  I  made  a  great  discovery,  which  everybody  in 
the  village  knew  except  myself.  The  lady,  whom  I 
had  supposed  to  be  a  seiiorita,  was  a  comprometida, 
or  compromised,  or,  to  speak  precisely,  she  was  the 
compagnera  of  the  padre  who  sat  on  the  other  side 
of  me. 

I  have  omitted  to  mention  that  a  great  change,  or, 
as  it  is  sometimes  called  in  the  country,  a  new  ref- 
ormation, is  now  going  on  in  Yucatan,  not  hke  the 
reformations  got  up  by  disorganizing  laymen,  which 
have,  at  times,  convulsed  the  whole  Christian  world, 
but  peculiar  and  local,  and  touching  only  the  domes- 
tic relations  of  the  padres.    It  may  be  known  to 
many  of  my  readers  that  in  the  early  ages  of  the 
Catholic  Church  priests  were  not  forbidden  to  mar- 
ry.   In  process  of  time  the  pope,  to  wean  them 
from  wordly  ties,  enjoined  celibacy,  and  separation 
where  marriage  had  already  taken  place.  The 
priests  resisted,  and  the  struggle  threatened  to  un- 
dermine the  whole  fabric  of  church  government ; 
but  the  pope  prevailed,  and  for  eight  centuries, 
throughout  those  countries  in  which  the  spiritual 
domination  of  Rome  is  acknowledged,  no  priest  has 
been  allowed  to  marry.    But  in  Yucatan  this  bur- 
den was  found  too  heavy  to  be  borne.    Very  early, 
from  the  necessity  growing  out  of  local  position, 
some  special  indulgences  had  been  granted  to  the 
people  of  this  country,  among  which  was  a  dispen- 
sation for  eating  meat  on  fast  days  ;  and,  under  the 


THE  PADRES. 


115 


liberal  spirit  of  this  bull,  or  of  some  other  that  I  am 
not  aware  of,  the  good  padres  have  relaxed  consider- 
ably the  tightness  of  the  cord  that  binds  them  to  cel- 
ibacy. 

I  am  about  making  a  delicate  and  curious  com- 
munication.   It  may  be  considered  an  ill-natured  at- 
tack upon  the  Catholic  Church ;  but  as  I  feel  in- 
nocent of  any  such  intention,  this  does  not  trouble 
me.    But  another  consideration  does.    I  have  a 
strong  liking  to  padres.    I  have  received  from  them 
nothing  but  kindness,  and  wherever  I  have  met  with 
them  I  have  found  friends.    I  mean  barely  to  men- 
tion the  subject  and  pass  on,  though  I  am  afraid  that 
by  this  preface  I  am  only  calhng  more  particular  at- 
tention to  it.    I  would  omit  it  altogether,  but  it  forms 
so  striking  a  feature  in  the  state  of  society  in  that 
country,  that  no  picture  can  be  complete  without  it. 
Without  farther  preface,  then,  I  mention,  but  only 
for  the  private  ear  of  the  reader,  that,  except  at  Mer- 
ida  and  Campeachy,  where  they  are  more  immedi- 
ately under  the  eyes  of  the  bishop,  the  padres  through- 
out Yucatan,  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  convent  life, 
have  compagneras,  or,  as  they  are  sometimes  called, 
hermanas  politicas.,  or  sisters-in-law ;  or,  to  speak 
with  the  precision  I  particularly  aim  at,  the  propor- 
tion of  those  who  have  to  those  who  have  not  is 
about  as  the  proportion  in  a  well-regulated  commu- 
nity of  married  to  unmarried  men. 

I  have  now  told  the  worst ;  the  greatest  enemy  of 
the  padres  cannot  say  more.    I  do  not  express  any 


116 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


opinion  of  my  own  upon  this  matter,  but  I  may  re- 
mark that  with  the  people  of  the  country  it  is  no  im- 
peachment of  a  padre's  character,  and  does  not  im- 
pair his  usefulness.  Some  look  upon  this  arrange- 
ment as  a  little  irregular,  but  in  general  it  is  regard- 
ed only  as  an  amiable  weakness,  and  I  am  safe  in 
saying  that  it  is  considered  a  recommendation  to 
a  village  padre,  as  it  is  supposed  to  give  him  set- 
tled habits,  as  marriage  does  with  laymen,  and,  to 
give  my  own  honest  opinion,  which  I  did  not 
intend  to  do,  it  is  less  injurious  to  good  morals 
than  the  by  no  means  uncommon  consequences 
of  celibacy  which  are  found  in  some  other  Catho- 
lic countries.  The  padre  in  Yucatan  stands  in  the 
position  of  a  married  man,  and  performs  all  the  du- 
ties pertaining  to  the  head  of  a  family.  Persons  of 
what  is  considered  respectable  standing  in  a  village 
do  not  shun  left-hand  marriage  with  a  padre.  Still 
it  was  to  us  always  a  matter  of  regret  to  meet  with 
individuals  of  worth,  and  whom  we  could  not  help 
esteeming,  standing  in  what  could  not  but  be  con- 
sidered a  false  position.  To  return  to  the  case  with 
which  I  set  out :  the  padre  in  question  was  univer- 
sally spoken  of  as  a  man  of  good  conduct,  a  sort  of 
pattern  padre  for  correct,  steady  habits;  sedate,  grave, 
and  middle-aged,  and  apparently  the  last  man  to 
have  had  an  eye  for  such  a  pretty  compagnera. 
The  only  comment  I  ever  heard  made  was  upon  his 
good  fortune,  and  on  that  point  he  knows  my  opinion. 
The  next  day  Mr.  Catherwood  and  Doctor  Ca- 


ANCIENT    CHRONOLOGY    OF    YUCATAN.  117 


bot  arrived.  Both  had  had  a  recurrence  of  fever, 
and  vv^ere  still  very  weak.  In  the  evening  was 
the  carnival  ball,  but  before  the  company  had  all  ar- 
rived we  were  again  scattered  by  the  rain.  All  the 
next  day  it  was  more  abundant  than  we  had  seen  it 
in  the  country,  and  completely  destroyed  all  the  pro- 
posed gayeties  of  the  carnival. 

We  had  one  clear  day,  which  we  devoted  to  ta- 
king Daguerreotype  likenesses  of  the  cura  and  two 
of  the  Mestizas  ;  and,  besides  the  great  business  of 
balls,  bull-fights,  Daguerreotyping,  and  superintend- 
ing the  morals  of  the  padres,  I  had  some  light  read- 
ing in  a  manuscript  entitled,  "  Antigua  Chronologia 
Yucateca,"  "  Ancient  Chronology  of  Yucatan  ;  or, 
a  simple  Exposition  of  the  Method  used  by  the  In- 
dians to  compute  Time."  This  essay  w  as  presented 
to  me  by  the  author,  Don  Pio  Perez,  whom  I  had 
the  satisfaction  of  meeting  at  this  place.  I  had  been 
advised  that  this  gentleman  was  the  best  Maya 
scholar  in  Yucatan,  and  that  he  was  distinguished 
in  the  same  degree  for  the  investigation  and  study 
of  all  matters  tending  to  elucidate  the  history  of 
the  ancient  Indians.  His  attention  was  turned  in 
this  direction  by  the  circumstance  of  holding  an  of- 
fice in  the  department  of  state,  in  which  old  docu- 
ments in  the  Maya  language  were  constantly  pass- 
ing under  his  eyes.  Fortunately  for  the  interests  of 
science  and  his  own  studious  tastes,  on  account  of 
some  political  disgust  he  withdrew  from  public  hfe, 
and,  during  two  years  of  retirement,  devoted  him- 


118 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


self  to  the  study  of  the  ancient  chronology  of  Yu- 
catan. It  is  a  work  which  no  ordinary  man  would 
have  ventured  to  undertake  ;  and,  if  general  reputa- 
tion be  any  proof,  there  was  no  man  in  the  country 
so  competent,  or  who  could  bring  to  it  so  much 
learning  and  research.  It  adds  to  the  merit  of  his 
labours  that,  in  prosecuting  them,  Don  Pio  stood 
alone,  had  none  to  sympathize  with  him,  knew  that 
the  attainment  of  the  most  important  results  would 
not  be  appreciated,  and  had  not  even  that  hope  of 
honourable  distinction  which,  in  the  absence  of  all 
other  prospects  of  reward,  cheers  the  student  in  the 
solitary  labours  of  his  closet. 

The  essay  explains  at  large  the  principles  imbod- 
ied  in  the  calendar  of  the  ancient  Indians.  It  has 
been  submitted  for  examination  (with  other  inter- 
esting papers  furnished  me  by  Don  Pio,  which  will 
be  referred  to  hereafter)  to  a  distinguished  gentle- 
man, known  by  his  researches  into  Indian  languages 
and  antiquities,  and  I  am  authorized  to  say  that  it 
furnishes  a  basis  for  some  interesting  comparisons 
and  deductions,  and  is  regarded  as  a  valuable  contri- 
bution to  the  cause  of  science. 

The  essay  of  Don  Pio  contains  calculations  and 
details  which  would  not  be  interesting  to  the  gen- 
eral reader ;  to  some,  however,  even  these  cannot 
fail  to  be  so,  and  the  whole  is  published  in  the  Ap- 
pendix.* I  shall  refer  in  this  place  only  to  the  result. 
From  the  examination  and  analysis  made  by  the  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  before  referred  to,  I  am  ena- 

*  See  Appendix  to  vol.  i. 


CALENDAR  OF  THE  ANCIENT   INDIANS.  119 

bled  to  State  the  interesting  fact,  that  the  calendar  of 
Yucatan,  though  differing  in  some  particulars,  was 
substantially  the  same  with  that  of  the  Mexicans. 
It  had  a  similar  solar  year  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty- five  days,  divided  in  the  same  manner,  first, 
into  eighteen  months  of  twenty  days  each,  with  five 
supplementary  days ;  and,  secondly,  into  twenty- 
eight  weeks  of  thirteen  days  each,  with  an  addition- 
al day.  It  had  the  same  method  of  distinguishing 
the  days  of  the  year  by  a  combination  of  those  two 
series,  and  the  same  cycle  of  fifty-two  years,  in 
which  the  years,  as  in  Mexico,  are  distinguished  by 
a  combination  of  the  same  series  of  thirteen,  with 
another  of  four  names  or  hieroglyphics ;  but  Don 
Pio  acknowledges  that  in  Yucatan  there  is  no  cer- 
tain evidence  of  the  intercalation  (similar  to  our  leap 
year,  or  to  the  Mexican  secular  addition  of  thirteen 
days)  necessary  to  correct  the  error  resulting  from 
counting  the  year  as  equal  to  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  only. 

It  will  be  seen,  by  reference  to  the  essay,  that,  be- 
sides the  cycle  of  fifty-two  years  common  to  the 
Yucatecans  and  Mexicans,  and,  as  Don  Pio  Perez 
asserts  (on  the  authority  of  Veytia),  to  the  Indians 
of  Chiapas,  Oaxaca,  and  Soconusco,  those  of  Yuca- 
tan had  another  age  of  two  hundred  and  sixty,  or  of 
three  hundred  and  twelve  years,  equal  to  five  or  six 
cycles  of  fifty-two  years,  each  of  which  ages  con- 
sisted of  thirteen  periods  (called  Ajau  or  Ajau  Ka- 
tun) of  twenty  years  each,  according  to  many  au- 


120 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


thorities,  but,  in  Don  Pio's  opinion,  of  twenty -four 
years. 

The  fact  that  though  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan 
and  Mexico  speak  different  languages,  their  calen- 
dar is  substantially  the  same,  I  regard  as  extremely 
interesting  and  important,  for  this  is  not  like  a  simi- 
larity of  habits,  which  may  grow  out  of  natural  in- 
stincts or  identity  of  position.  A  calendar  is  a  work 
of  science,  founded  upon  calculations,  arbitrary  signs, 
and  symbols,  and  the  similarity  shows  that  both  na- 
tions acknowledged  the  same  starting  points,  attached 
the  same  meaning  to  the  same  phenomena  and  ob- 
jects, which  meaning  was  sometimes  arbitrary,  and 
not  such  as  would  suggest  itself  to  the  untutored.  It 
shows  common  sources  of  knowledge  and  processes 
of  reasoning,  similarity  of  worship  and  religious  in- 
stitutions, and,  in  short,  it  is  a  link  in  a  chain  of  evi- 
dence tending  to  show  a  common  origin  in  the  ab- 
original inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico.  For 
this  discovery  we  are  indebted  to  Don  Pio  Perez. 


FINAL    DEPARTURE    FROM    NOHCACAB.  121 


CHAPTER,  VII. 

Return  to  Nohcacab. — Final  Departure  from  this  Village. — An 
Indian  Sexton. — Route. — "  Old  Walls." — Ruins  of  Sacbey. — 
Paved  Road. — Journey  continued. — Ruins  of  Xampon. — Impo- 
sing Edifice. — "  Old  Walls,"  called  by  Indians  Xlapphak. — 
Ruins  of  Hiokowitz  and  Kuepak. — Zekilna. — Altar  for  burning 
Copal. — Ancient  Terrace. — Lofty  stone  Structure. — Remains  of 
a  Building. — Sculptured  Stones. — Platform. — Rancho  of  Chun- 
huhu. — Become  involuntary  Masters  of  a  Hut. — Its  interior  Ar- 
rangements.— Scarcity  of  Water. — Pressing  Wants. — Visit  to 
the  Ruins. — Two  Buildings. — Fai^ade. — Ornamented  Doorways. 
— W^elcome  Visiters. — Another  Building. — Plastered  Front. — 
A  Building  seen  from  the  Terrace. — Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  School- 
hoke. — Large  stone  Structure. — Ranges  of  Buildings. — Circu- 
lar Stone. — Ruined  Edifice. — Representations  of  Human  Fig- 
ures.— Return  to  the  Rancho. — Benefits  of  a  Rain. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  February  we  returned  to 
Nohcacab.  We  had  sent  Albmo  before  to  make  all 
our  necessary  arrangements,  and  on  the  fifteenth  we 
took  our  final  leave  of  this  village.  We  had  no 
regret ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  pleasant  to  think  that 
we  should  not  return  to  it.  Our  luggage  was  again 
reduced  to  the  smallest  possible  compass:  hammocks, 
a  few  changes  of  clothes,  and  Daguerreotype  appa- 
ratus, all  the  rest  being  forwarded  to  meet  us  at  Peto. 
The  chief  of  our  Indian  carriers  was  a  sexton,  who 
had  served  out  his  time,  an  old  neighbour  in  the  con- 
vent, whom  we  had  never  seen  sober,  and  who  was 
this  morning  particularly  the  reverse. 

To  understand  our  route  it  will  be  necessary  for 

Vol.  IL— a  11 


122  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

the  reader  to  consult  the  map.  On  setting  out  our 
direction  was  again  south,  and  again  our  road  was 
over  the  sepulchres  of"  cities.  At  the  distance  of 
two  miles  we  saw  "  old  walls"  on  an  eminence  at 
the  right ;  a  little  farther  three  ruined  buildings  on 
the  same  side  of  the  road ;  and  beyond  these  we  came 
to  the  ruins  of  Sacbey.  These  consist  of  three  build- 
ings, irregularly  disposed,  one  of  which  is  represent- 
ed in  the  engraving  opposite.  It  faces  the  south, 
measures  fifty-three  feet  front  by  twelve  feet  six 
inches  deep,  and  has  three  small  doorways.  An- 
other, a  little  farther  south,  is  about  the  size  of  the 
former,  and  has  three  apartments,  with  two  columns 
in  the  centre  doorway.  The  third  is  so  ruined  that 
its  plan  could  not  be  made  out. 

Near  as  they  were  to  the  village,  the  padrecito 
had  never  seen  them.  They  stand  about  a  hundred 
feet  from  the  path,  but  so  completely  buried  among 
the  trees,  that,  though  I  had  visited  them  before  un- 
der the  guidance  of  an  Indian,  I  passed  now  without 
observing  them. 

A  short  distance  beyond  is  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting monuments  of  antiquity  in  Yucatan.  It  is 
a  broken  platform  or  roadway  of  stone,  about  eight 
feet  wide  and  eight  or  ten  inches  high,  crossing  the 
road,  and  running  off  into  the  woods  on  both  sides. 
I  have  before  referred  to  it  as  called  by  the  Indians 
Sacbey,  which  means,  in  the  Maya  language,  a  paved 
way  of  pure  white  stone.  The  Indians  say  it  trav- 
ersed the  country  from  Kabah  to  Uxmal ;  and  that 


INTERESTING  MONUMENT  OF  ANTIQUITY.  123 

on  it  couriers  travelled,  bearing  letters  to  and  from 
the  lords  of  those  cities,  written  on  leaves  or  the 
bark  of  trees.  It  W3.s  the  only  instance  in  which 
we  had  found  among  the  Indians  anything  like  a 
tradition,  and  the  universality  of  this  legend  was  il- 
lustrated by  the  circumstances  attending  our  arrival. 
While  we  were  standing  upon  the  road,  an  old  In- 
dian came  up  from  the  other  direction,  bending  un- 
der a  load,  who,  in  crossing  it,  stopped,  and,  striking 
his  stick  against  the  stones,  uttered  the  words  Sac- 
bey,  and  Kabah,  and  Uxmal.  At  the  same  time  our 
carriers  came  up,  the  old  sexton  at  their  head,  who, 
depositing  his  burden  upon  the  ancient  road,  repeat- 
ed Sacbey,  and  then  favoured  us  with  an  oration,  in 
which  we  could  only  distinguish  Kabah  and  Uxmal. 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  explore  thorough- 
ly the  route  of  this  ancient  road,  and,  if  possible, 
trace  it  through  the  woods  to  the  desolate  cities 
which  it  once  connected,  and  it  was  among  the 
vexations  of  our  residence  at  Nohcacab  that  we  had 
not  been  able  to  do  so.  The  difficulty  of  procuring 
Indians  to  work,  and  a  general  recurrence  of  sick- 
ness, rendered  it  impossible.  We  could  not  tell  how 
much  time  might  be  required  ;  the  whole  country 
was  overgrown  with  trees  ;  in  some  places  the  track 
was  but  faintly  marked,  and  in  others  it  might  be 
lost  altogether.  It  remains,  therefore,  an  unbroken 
ground  for  the  future  explorer. 

Again  passing  "  old  walls"  on  each  side  of  the 
road,  at  the  distance  of  two  leagues  we  reached 


124 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Xampon,  where  stand  the  remains  of  an  edifice 
which,  when  entire,  must  have  been  grand  and  im- 
posing, and  now,  but  for  the  world  of  ruins  around, 
might  excite  a  stranger's  wonder.  Its  form  was 
rectangular,  its  four  sides  enclosing  a  hollow  square. 
It  measured  from  north  to  south  eighty  feet,  and 
from  east  to  west  one  hundred  and  five.  Two  an- 
gles only  remain,  one  of  which  is  represented  in  the 
plate  opposite.  It  stood  alone,  and  an  Indian  had 
planted  a  milpa  around  it.  From  this  "  old  walls" 
were  again  visible,  which  the  Indians  called  Kalu- 
pok. 

Beyond  we  saw  at  a  distance  two  other  places, 
called  Hiokowitz  and  Kuepak,  ruined  and  difficult 
of  access,  and  we  did  not  attempt  to  reach  them. 

It  added  to  the  effect  of  the  ruins  scattered  in  this 
region,  that  they  were  not  on  a  camino  real,  but  on 
a  little-frequented  milpa  path,  in  some  places  so 
overgrown  that  we  found  it  difficult  to  force  a  pas- 
sage. The  heat  was  intense  ;  we  exhausted  our 
waccals  of  water,  and  as  there  was  no  stream  or 
fountain,  our  only  chance  of  a  supply  was  from  a 
deposite  of  rain-water  in  the  hollow  of  some  friend- 
ly rock. 

At  two  o'clock  we  reached  a  small  clearing,  in 
which  stood  an  arbour  of  leaves,  and  under  it  a  rude 
cross,  facing  the  road ;  beyond,  on  the  left,  was  an 
overgrown  path,  which,  for  the  first  time  in  many 
years,  had  been  opened  for  me  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, to  enable  me  to  visit  the  ruins  of  Zekilna. 


1 


/ 


RUINS    OF  ZEKILNA. 


125 


This  place  had  been  the  object  of  one  of  my 
bootless  visits  from  Nohcacab.    The  account  I  had 
heard  was  of  an  apartment  containing  an  altar  for 
burning  copal,  with  traces  of  its  use  as  left  by  the  an- 
cient inhabitants.    When  I  had  arrived  where  it 
was  necessary  to  turn  off,  it  was  some  time  before  the 
Indian  could  discover  any  signs  of  a  path;  and  when 
found,  he  had  to  clear  every  step  of  the  way.  By 
that  time  my  views  on  the  subject  of  ruined  cities 
had  become  practical,  and,  perceiving  the  discomfort 
and  hardship  that  must  attend  an  exploration  in  so 
desolate  a  place,  I  did  most  earnestly  hope  that  the 
path  would  lead  to  nothing  that  might  require  a  sec- 
ond visit.    I  dismounted,  and  leading  my  horse  as 
the  Indian  cleared  the  way,  we  came  to  a  broken, 
stony  ascent,  climbing  up  which  I  discovered  that 
we  were  upon  the  top  of  an  ancient  terrace.    A  fine 
alamo  tree  was  growing  on  the  terrace,  under  which 
I  tied  my  horse,  and  descending  on  the  other  side, 
we  crossed  a  closely-wooded  hollow,  which,  from 
the  excessive  heat,  I  supposed  to  be  between  two 
mounds.    In  a  few  moments  I  found  myself  ascend- 
ing the  side  of  a  lofty  stone  structure,  on  the  top  of 
which  were  the  remains  of  a  large  building,  with  its 
walls  fallen,  and  the  whole  side  of  the  mound  strew- 
ed with  sculptured  stones,  a  scene  of  irrecoverable 
ruin.    Descending  on  the  other  side  of  this  struc- 
ture, we  reached  a  broad  platform,  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation,  with  trees  growing  upon  it,  without 
brush  or  underwood,  but  so  teeming  with  insects  and 


126  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

large  black  ants  that  it  was  necessary  to  step  from 
stone  to  stone,  and  avoid  touching  the  ground. 
Running  off  lengthwise  from  this  terrace  was  a  small 
building,  which  the  Indian  pointed  out  as  contain- 
ing the  altar  and  copal.  Passing  the  first  door,  he 
went  on  to  the  second,  put  his  head  in  cautiously, 
and,  without  entering,  drew  back.  Going  in,  I  found 
an  apartment  differing  in  nothing  from  the  most  or- 
dinary we  had  seen  in  the  country.  For  some  time 
I  could  not  get  the  Indian  to  enter,  and  when  he  did, 
standing  in  the  doorway,  and  looking  around  cau- 
tiously, he  waved  his  finger  horizontally,  according 
to  the  manner  of  the  Indians,  to  indicate  that  there 
was  nothing.  Fortunately,  however,  I  learned  that 
the  road  we  had  left  led  to  the  ruins  of  Chun- 
huhu  ;  and  it  shows  the  difficulty  I  had  in  ascertain-- 
ing  the  juxtaposition  of  places,  that  though  this  was 
one  of  the  places  which  I  intended  to  visit,  until 
this  man  mentioned  it  I  had  not  been  able  to  learn 
that  it  lay  in  the  same  neighbourhood.  I  determin- 
ed at  once  to  continue  on,  and  it  was  w^hat  I  saw  on 
that  occasion  that  now  put  our  whole  body  in  mo- 
tion in  this  direction. 

To  return.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  we 
reached  the  savanna  of  Chunhuhu,  and  rode  up  to 
the  hut  at  which  I  had  tied  my  horse  on  my  former 
visit. 

The  hut  was  built  of  upright  poles,  had  a  steep 
projecting  roof  thatched  with  palm  leaves,  and  the 
sides  protected  by  the  same  material  ;  as  we  stopped 


A    WELL-STORED  HUT. 


127 


in  front,  we  saw  a  woman  within  mashing  maize  for 
tortillas,  which  promised  a  speedy  supper.  She  said 
her  husband  was  away  ;  but  this  made  no  differ- 
ence to  us,  and,  after  a  few  more  words,  we  all  en- 
tered, the  woman  at  the  moment  bolting  for  the  door, 
and  leaving  us  in  exclusive  possession.  Very  soon, 
however,  a  little  boy,  about  eight  years  old,  came 
down  and  demanded  the  maize,  which  we  were  loth 
to  give  up,  but  did  not  consider  ourselves  authorized 
to  retain.  Albino  followed  him,  in  hopes  of  persua- 
ding the  woman  to  return  ;  but  as  soon  as  she  caught 
a  glimpse  of  him  she  ran  into  the  woods. 

The  hut  of  which  we  thus  became  the  sudden 
and  involuntary  masters  was  furnished  with  three 
stones  for  a  fireplace,  a  wooden  horse  for  kneading 
maize  upon,  a  comal  for  baking  tortillas,  an  earth- 
en olla,  or  pot,  for  cooking,  three  or  four  waccals, 
or  gourds,  for  drinking-cups,  and  two  small  Indian 
hammocks,  which  also  were  demanded  and  given 
up.  Besides  these,  there  was  a  circular  dining-ta- 
ble  about  a  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter,  supported 
by  three  pegs  about  eight  inches  high,  and  some 
blocks  of  wood  about  the  same  height  for  seats. 
Overhead,  suspended  from  the  rafters,  were  three 
large  bundles  of  corn  in  the  husk  and  two  of  beans 
in  the  pod ;  and  on  each  string,  about  a  foot  above 
these  eatables,  was  half  a  calabash  or  squash,  with 
the  rounded  side  up,  like  the  shade  over  a  lamp, 
which,  besides  being  ornamental,  filled  the  office  of 
a  rat-trap ;  for  these  vermin,  in  springing  from  the 


128 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


rafters  to  reach  the  corn  and  beans,  would  strike 
upon  the  calabash,  and  fall  to  the  ground. 

Being  provided  for  ourselves,  w^e  next  looked  to 
our  horses.  There  was  no  difficulty  about  their 
food,  for  a  supply  of  corn  had  fallen  into  our  hands, 
and  the  grass  on  the  savanna  was  the  best  pasture 
we  had  seen  in  the  country  ;  but  we  learned,  to  our 
dismay,  from  the  little  boy,  who  was  the  only  person 
we  saw,  that  there  was  no  water.  The  place  was 
worse  supplied  than  any  we  had  yet  visited.  There 
was  neither  well,  cueva,  nor  aguada,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants depended  entirely  upon  the  rain-water  collect- 
ed in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks.  As  to  a  supply  for 
four  horses,  it  was  utterly  out  of  the  question.  Any 
long  stay  at  this  place  was,  of  course,  impossible ; 
but  immediate  wants  were  pressing.  Our  horses 
had  not  touched  water  since  morning,  and,  after  a 
long,  hot,  and  toilsome  journey,  we  could  not  think 
of  their  going  without  all  night. 

The  little  boy  was  hovering  about  the  rancho  in 
charge  of  a  naked  sister  some  two  years  old,  and 
commissioned,  as  he  told  us  himself,  to  watch  that 
we  did  not  take  anything  from  the  hut.  For  a  me- 
dio he  undertook  to  show  me  the  place  where  they 
procured  water,  and,  mounting  his  little  sister  upon 
his  back,  he  led  the  way  up  a  steep  and  stony  hill. 
I  followed  with  the  bridle  of  my  horse  in  my  hand, 
and,  without  any  little  girl  on  my  back,  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  keep  up  with  him.  On  the  top  of  the  hill 
were  worn  and  naked  rocks,  with  deep  hollows  in 


PRESSING  WANTS. 


129 


them,  some  holding  perhaps  as  much  as  one  or  two 
pails  of  water.  I  led  my  horse  to  one  of  the  lar- 
gest. He  was  always  an  extraordinary  water  drink- 
er, and  that  evening  was  equal  to  a  whole  temper- 
ance society.  The  little  Indian  looked  on  as  if  he 
had  sold  his  birthright,  and  I  felt  strong  compunc- 
tions; but,  letting  the  morrow  take  care  of  itself,  I 
sent  up  the  other  horses,  which  consumed  at  a  sin- 
gle drinking  what  might,  perhaps,  have  sufficed  the 
family  a  month. 

In  the  mean  time  our  own  wants  were  not  slight. 
We  had  been  on  the  road  all  day,  and  had  eaten 
nothing.  Unluckily,  the  old  sexton  had  taken  for 
his  load  the  box  containing  our  table  furniture  and 
provisions  for  the  road,  and  we  had  not  seen  him 
since  we  left  him  at  Sacbey.  All  the  other  carriers 
had  arrived.  I  had  hired  them  to  remain  with  us 
and  work  at  the  ruins,  and  then  carry  the  luggage 
to  the  next  village.  Part  of  my  contract  was  to 
feed  them,  and,  knowing  the  state  of  things,  they 
scattered  in  search  of  supplies,  returning,  after  a 
long  absence,  with  some  tortillas,  eggs,  and  lard. 
We  had  the  eggs  fried,  and  would,  perhaps,  have 
been  content  but  for  our  vexation  with  the  sexton. 
While  we  were  swinging  in  our  hammocks,  we 
heard  his  voice  at  a  distance,  and  presently  he  enter- 
ed in  the  best  humour  possible,  and  holding  up  his 
empty  bottle  in  triumph. 

The  next  morning  at  dayhght  we  sent  Albino 

Vol.  IL— R 


130 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


with  the  Indians  to  begin  clearing  around  the  ruins, 
and  after  breakfast  we  followed.  The  path  lay 
through  a  savanna  covered  with  long  grass,  and  at 
the  distance  of  a  mile  we  reached  two  buildings, 
which  I  had  seen  before,  and  were  the  inducement 
to  this  visit. 

The  first  is  that  represented  in  the  plate  opposite. 
It  stands  on  a  substantial  terrace,  but  lower  than 
most  of  the  others.  The  front  is  one  hundred  and 
twelve  feet  long,  and  when  entire  must  have  pre- 
sented a  grand  appearance.  The  end  on  the  left  in 
the  engraving  has  fallen,  carrying  with  it  one  door- 
way, so  that  now  only  four  appear.  The  doorway 
was  the  largest  and  most  imposing  we  had  seen  in 
the  country,  but,  unfortunately,  the  ornaments  over 
it  were  broken  and  fallen.  In  the  centre  apartment 
the  back  corridor  is  raised,  and  the  ascent  to  it  is 
by  three  steps. 

All  the  doorways  were  plain  except  the  centre 
one  (the  second  to  the  left  in  the  engraving),  which 


WELCOME  VISITERS. 


131 


is  represented  in  the  plate  opposite.  It  is  in  a  dilap- 
idated condition,  but  still  presents  bold  and  striking 
ornaments.  Even  on  this  scale,  however,  the  details 
of  the  sitting  figures  above  the  cornice  do  not  appear. 

While  we  were  engaged  in  making  a  clearing  in 
front  of  this  building,  two  young  men  came  down 
upon  the  terrace  from  the  corner  that  was  fallen,  and 
apparently  from  the  top  of  the  building,  with  long 
guns,  the  locks  covered  with  deer- skin,  and  all  the 
accoutrements  of  cac adores,  or  hunters.  They  were 
tall,  fine- looking  fellows,  fearless  and  frank  in  ap- 
pearance and  manner.  Dr.  Cabot's  gun  was  the 
first  object  that  attracted  their  attention,  after  which 
they  laid  down  their  guns,  and,  as  if  for  the  mere 
sport  of  swinging  their  machetes,  were  soon  fore- 
most in  making  the  clearing.  When  this  was  fin- 
ished, Mr.  C.  sat  up  his  camera  lucida,  and  though 
at  first  all  gathered  round,  in  a  few  minutes  he  was 
left  with  only  the  two  brothers,  one  of  them  holding 
over  him  an  umbrella  to  protect  him  from  the  sun. 

Except  the  little  boy  and  the  woman,  these  were 
the  first  persons  we  had  seen  within  speaking  dis- 
tance. We  were  so  pleased  with  their  appearance 
that  we  proposed  to  one  of  them  to  accompany  us 
in  our  search  after  ruins.  The  elder  was  quite  ta- 
ken with  the  idea  of  rambhng,  but  soon  said,  with 
a  rather  disconsolate  tone,  that  he  had  a  wife  and 
children.  His  hermanito,  or  younger  brother,  how- 
ever, had  no  such  ties,  and  would  go  with  us.  We 
made  an  agreement  on  the  spot ;  and  nothing  can 


132 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


show  more  plainly  the  sense  which  we  entertained 
of  the  security  of  traveUing  in  Yucatan.  In  Cen- 
tral America  we  never  dared  to  take  a  man  into  our 
service  without  strong  recommendations,  for  he 
might  be  a  robber  or  an  assassin.  These  men  we 
had  never  heard  of  till  they  came  upon  us  with  their 
guns.  Their  manly  bearing  as  hunters  inspired 
confidence,  and  the  only  suspicious  circumstance 
was  that  they  were  wiUing  to  take  us  without  ref- 
erences ;  but  we  found  afterward  that  they  had  both 
known  us  at  Nohcacab.  The  one  whom  we  en- 
gaged was  named  Dimas,  and  he  continued  with  us 
until  we  left  the  country. 

On  the  same  line,  and  but  a  short  distance  re- 
moved, though  on  a  lower  terrace,  is  another  build- 
ing, measuring  eighty-five  feet  in  front,  which  is  rep- 
resented in  the  plate  opposite.  It  had  a  fresh- 
ness about  it  that  suggested  the  idea  of  something 
more  modern  than  the  others.  The  whole  w  as  cov- 
ered with  a  coat  of  plaster  but  little  broken,  and  it 
confirmed  us  in  the  opinion  we  had  entertained  be- 
fore, that  the  fronts  of  all  the  buildings  had  been  thus 
covered. 

Our  meeting  with  these  young  men  was  a  fortu- 
nate circumstance  for  us  in  exploring  these  ruins. 
From  boyhood  their  father  had  had  his  rancho  on 
the  savanna,  and  with  their  guns  they  had  ranged 
over  the  whole  country  for  leagues  around. 

From  the  terrace  of  the  first  building  we  saw  at 
a  distance  a  high  hill,  almost  a  mountain,  on  the  top 


VISIT  TO  THE  RUINS  OF  SCHOOLHOKE.  133 

of  which  rose  a  wooded  elevation  surrounding  an 
ancient  building.  There  was  something  extraordi- 
nary in  its  position,  but  the  young  men  told  us  it 
was  entirely  ruined,  and,  although  it  was  then  but 
eleven  o'clock,  if  we  attempted  to  go  to  it,  we  could 
not  return  till  after  dark.  They  told  us,  also,  of  oth- 
ers at  the  distance  of  half  a  league,  more  extensive, 
and  some  of  which,  they  said,  were,  in  finish  and 
preservation,  equal  to  these. 

At  one  o'clock  Doctor  Cabot  and  myself,  under 
the  guidance  of  Dimas,  set  out  to  look  for  them. 
It  was  desperately  hot.  We  passed  several  huts, 
and  at  one  of  them  asked  for  some  w^ater ;  but  it 
was  so  full  of  insects  that  we  could  barely  taste  it. 
Dimas  led  us  to  the  hut  of  his  mother,  and  gave  us 
some  from  a  vessel  in  which  the  insects  had  settled 
to  the  bottom. 

Beyond  this  we  ascended  the  spur  of  a  high  hill, 
and  coming  down  into  a  thickly-wooded  valley,  af- 
ter the  longest  half  league  we  ever  walked,  we  saw 
through  the  trees  a  large  stone  structure.  On  reach- 
ing it,  and  climbing  over  a  broken  terrace,  we  came 
to  a  large  mound  faced  on  all  sides  with  stone,  which 
we  ascended,  and  crossing  over  the  top,  looked  down 
upon  an  overgrown  area,  having  on  each  side  a 
range  of  ruined  buildings,  with  their  white  facades 
peering  through  the  trees ;  and  beyond,  at  a  distance, 
and  seemingly  inaccessible,  was  the  high  hill  with 
the  ruins  on  the  top,  which  we  had  seen  from  the 
terrace  of  the  first  building.    Hills  rose  around  us 

12 


134 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


on  every  side,  and,  for  that  country,  the  scene  was 
picturesque,  but  all  waste  and  silent.  The  stillness 
of  the  grave  rested  upon  the  ruins,  and  the  notes  of 
a  little  flycatcher  were  the  only  sounds  we  heard. 

The  ruins  in  sight  were  much  more  extensive 
than  those  we  had  first  visited,  but  in  a  more  ruin- 
ous condition.  We  descended  the  mound  to  the 
area  in  front,  and,  bearing  down  the  bushes,  passed 
in  the  centre  an  uncouth,  upright,  circular  stone,  like 
that  frequently  referred  to  before,  called  the  picote, 
or  whipping-post,  and  farther  on  we  reached  an  ed- 
ifice, which  Mr.  Catherwood  afterward  drew,  and 
which  is  represented  in  the  engraving  opposite.  It 
is  thirty-three  feet  in  front,  and  has  two  apartments, 
each  thirteen  feet  long  by  eight  feet  six  inches  deep, 
and  conspicuous  in  the  facade  are  representations  of 
three  uncouth  human  figures,  in  curious  dresses,  with 
their  hands  held  up  by  the  side  of  the  head,  support- 
ing the  cornice. 

These  ruins,  Dimas  told  us,  were  called  School- 
hoke,  but,  like  the  others,  they  stand  on  what  is  call- 
ed the  savanna  of  Chunhuhu;  and  the  ruined  build- 
ing on  the  top  of  the  hill,  visible  from  both  places, 
seems  towering  as  a  hnk  to  connect  them  together. 
What  the  extent  of  this  place  has  been  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say.  Returning,  overtaken  by  night,  and  in 
apprehension  of  rain,  we  were  an  hour  and  a  half, 
which  would  make  the  two,  by  the  path  we  took, 
at  least  five  miles  apart,  though  much  nearer  in  a 
straight  line.    Supposing  the  two  piles  of  ruins  to 


i 


BENEFITS    OF    A  RAIN. 


135 


have  formed  part  of  the  same  city,  there  is  reason  to 
beheve  that  it  once  covered  as  much  ground  and 
contained  as  many  inhabitants  as  any  that  has  yet 
been  presented. 

The  first  intelhgence  I  received  of  the  existence 
of  these  ruins  was  from  Cocom,  who,  the  reader  may 
remember,  was  our  guide  at  Nohpat ;  and  this  is  ail 
that  I  am  able  to  communicate  in  regard  to  their 
history. 

We  returned  to  the  rancho  worn  down  with  fa- 
tigue, just  in  time  to  escape  a  violent  rain.  This 
brought  within,  as  an  accompaniment  to  the  fleas  of 
the  night  before,  our  carriers  and  servants,  and  we 
had  eleven  hammocks,  in  close  juxtaposition,  and 
through  the  night  a  concert  of  nasal  trombones, 
with  Indian  variations.  The  rain  continued  all  the 
next  day,  and  as  no  work  could  be  done,  Mr.  Cather- 
wood  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  have  an- 
other attack  of  fever.  We  were  glad  of  it  on  an- 
other account,  for  we  had  kept  a  man  constantly 
employed  in  the  woods  searching  for  water ;  our 
horses  had  exhausted  all  the  rocky  cavities  around, 
and  we  could  not  have  held  out  another  day.  The 
rain  replenished  them,  and  relieved  us  from  some 
compunctions. 

In  the  afternoon  the  little  boy  came  down  with  a 
message  from  his  mother,  desiring  to  know  when  we 
were  going  away.  Perhaps  the  reader  is  curious  to 
know  the  costume  of  boys  at  Chunhuhu.  It  con- 
sists of  a  straw  hat  and  a  pair  of  sandals.    This  one 


136 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


had,  besides,  some  distinguishable  spots  of  dirt,  and 
Mr.  Catherwood  made  a  drawing  of  him  as  he 
stood.  Soon  afterward  the  poor  woman  herself 
was  seen  hovering  about  the  house.  She  con- 
sidered that  it  was  really  time  to  come.  We  had 
made  a  great  inroad  upon  her  provisions  ;  given  the 
corn  to  our  horses,  and  cooked  the  frigoles  ;  but  the 
special  cause  of  her  coming  was  to  return  a  medio, 
which  she  said  was  bad.  She  was  mild,  amiable, 
and  simple  as  a  child ;  complained  that  we  said  we 
were  only  going  to  remain  one  night,  and  now  she 
did  not  know  when  we  were  going  away.  With 
great  difficulty,  we  prevailed  upon  her  to  enter  the 
hut,  and  told  her  she  might  return  whenever  she 
pleased.  She  laughed  good-naturedly,  and,  after 
looking  round  carefully  to  see  that  nothing  was  miss- 
ing, went  away  comforted  by  our  promise  to  depart 
the  next  day. 


JOURNEY    TO  BOLONCHEN. 


137 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Journey  to  Bolonchen.  — Bad  Road.  — Large  Hacienda.  —  Impo- 
sing Gateway. — An  inhospitable  Host. — Ruins  of  Ytsimpte. — 
Ruined  Edifice.  —  Staircase  with  sculptured  Stones.  —  Square 
Building.  —  Fagade  decorated  with  Pillars.  — Ruined  Walls. — 
Remains  of  a  sculptured  Figure. — Character  and  Aspect  of 
the  Ruins. — Departure. — Arrival  at  the  Village  of  Bolonchen. 
— Scene  of  Contentment. — Wells. — Derivation  of  the  Word  Bo- 
lonchen.— Origin  of  the  Wells  unknown. — The  Cura. — Visit  to 
an  extraordinary  Cave. — Entrance  to  it. — Precipitous  Descents. 
— A  wild  Scene, — Rude  Ladders. — Dangers  of  the  Descent. — 
Indian  Name  of  this  Cave. — A  subterranean  Ball-room. — Cav- 
ernous Chamber. — Numerous  Passages.  —  Great  Number  of 
Ladders. — Rocky  Basin  of  Water. — Great  Depth  of  the  Cave. 
— A  Bath  in  the  Basin. — Its  Indian  Name. — Return  to  the 
Rocky  Chamber. — Exploration  of  another  Passage. — Another 
Basin. —  Indian  Stories. — Two  other  Passages  and  Basins. — 
Seven  Basins  in  all. — Indian  Names  of  the  remaining  five. — 
Want  of  Philosophical  Instruments.  —  Surface  of  the  Country. 
— This  Cave  the  sole  Watering-place  of  a  large  Indian  Village. 
— Return. — Visit  to  the  Cura. — Report  of  more  Ruins. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  the  woman  was  on 
the  spot  to  remind  us  of  om*  promise.  We  gave  her 
a  cup  of  coffee,  and  with  a  small  present,  which 
amply  satisfied  her  for  our  forcible  occupation  of 
her  hat,  left  her  again  in  possession. 

Our  party  this  morning  divided  into  three  parcels. 
The  carriers  set  out  direct  for  Bolonchen;  Mr. 
Catherwood  went,  under  the  guidance  of  Dimas,  to 
make  a  drawing  of  the  last  building,  and  Doctor 
Cabot,  myself,  and  Albino  to  visit  another  ruined 

Vol.  IL— S 


138 


INCIDENTS 


OF  TRAVEL. 


city,  all  to  meet  again  at  Bolonchen  in  the  even- 
ing. 

Doctor  Cabot  and  myself  w^ere  warned  that  the 
path  w^e  proposed  taking  was  not  passable  on  horse- 
back. For  the  first  league  our  arms  and  legs  were 
continually  scratched  and  torn  by  briers,  and  only 
our  hats  saved  us  from  the  fate  of  Absalom.  In  that 
hot  climate,  it  was  always  uncomfortable  to  tie 
the  sombrero  under  the  chin  ;  and  there  were  few 
things  more  annoying  than  to  have  it  knocked  off 
every  five  minutes,  and  be  obliged  to  dismount  and 
pick  it  up.  Our  Indian  guide  moved  easily  on  foot, 
just  clearing  the  branches  on  each  side  and  over- 
head. We  had  one  alternative,  which  was  to  dis- 
mount and  lead  our  horses ;  but,  unused  to  having 
favours  shown  them,  they  pulled  back,  so  that  the 
labour  of  dragging  them  on  added  greatly  to  the  fa- 
tigue of  walking. 

Emerging  from  this  tangled  path,  we  came  out 
upon  a  large  hacienda,  and  stopped  before  an  im- 
posing gateway,  under  the  shade  of  great  seybo 
trees,  within  which  were  large  and  well-filled  water- 
tanks.  Our  horses  had  drunk  nothing  since  the  af- 
ternoon before  ;  we  therefore  dismounted,  loosened 
the  saddle  girths,  and,  as  a  matter  of  form,  sent  Al- 
bino to  ask  permission  to  water  them,  who  returned 
with  the  answer  that  we  might  for  a  real.  At 
Chunhuhu  it  always  cost  us  more  than  this  in  the  la- 
bour of  Indians  ;  but  the  demand  seemed  so  churlish 
at  the  gate  of  this  large  hacienda,  that  we  refused  to 


nUINS    OP  YTSTMPTE. 


139 


pay,  and  again  mounted.  Albino  told  us  that  we 
might  save  a  slight  circuit  by  passing  through  the 
cattle-yard  ;  and  we  rode  through,  close  beside  the 
water-tanks  and  a  group  of  men,  at  the  head  of 
whom  was  the  master,  and,  coming  out  upon  the 
camino  real,  shook  from  off  our  feet  the  dust  of 
the  inhospitable  hacienda.  Our  poor  horses  bore 
the  brunt  of  sustaining  our  dignity. 

At  one  o'clock  we  came  to  a  rancho  of  Indians, 
where  we  bought  some  tortillas  and  procured  a 
guide.  Leaving  the  camino  real,  we  turned  again 
into  a  milpa  path,  and  in  about  an  hour  came  in 
sight  of  another  ruined  city,  known  by  the  name  of 
Ytsimpte.  From  the  plain  on  which  we  approached 
we  saw  on  the  left,  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  a  range 
of  buildings,  six  or  eight  hundred  feet  in  length,  all 
laid  bare  to  view,  the  trees  having  just  been  felled ; 
and  as  we  drew  near  we  saw  Indians  engaged  in 
continuing  the  clearing.  On  arriving  at  the  foot  of 
the  buildings.  Albino  found  that  the  clearing  was 
made  by  order  of  the  alcalde  of  Bolonchen,  at  the  in- 
stance and  under  the  direction  of  the  padre,  in  ex- 
pectation of  our  visit  and  for  our  benefit ! 

We  had  another  subject  of  congratulation  on  ac- 
count of  our  horses.  There  was  an  agoiada  in  the 
neighbourhood,  to  which  we  immediately  sent  them, 
and,  carrying  our  traps  up  to  the  terrace  of  the  near- 
est building,  we  sat  down  before  it  to  meditate  and 
lunch. 

This  over,  we  commenced  a  survey  of  the  ruins. 


140  INCIDENTS    OP  TRAVEL. 

The  clearings  made  by  our  unknown  friends  enabled 
us  to  form  at  once  a  general  idea  of  their  character 
and  extent,  and  to  move  from  place  to  place  with 
comparative  facility.  These  ruins  he  in  the  viUage 
of  Bolonchen,  and  the  first  apartment  we  entered 
showed  the  effects  of  this  vicinity.  All  the  smooth 
stones  of  the  inner  wall  had  been  picked  out  and 
carried  away  for  building  purposes,  and  the  sides 
presented  the  cavities  in  the  bed  of  mortar  from 
which  they  had  been  taken.  The  edifice  was  about 
two  hundred  feet  long.  It  had  one  apartment,  per- 
haps sixty  feet  long,  and  a  grand  staircase  twen- 
ty feet  wide  rose  in  the  centre  to  the  top.  This 
staircase  was  in  a  ruinous  condition,  but  the  outer 
stones  of  the  lower  steps  remained,  richly  ornament- 
ed with  sculpture ;  and  probably  the  whole  casing 
on  each  side  had  once  possessed  the  same  rich  deco- 
ration. 

Beyond  this  was  another  large  building,  square 
and  peculiar  in  its  plan.  At  the  extreme  end  the 
whole  fa9ade  lay  unbroken  on  the  ground,  held 
together  by  the  great  mass  of  mortar  and  stones, 
and  presenting  the  entire  line  of  pillars  with  which 
it  had  been  decorated.  In  the  doorway  of  an 
inner  apartment  was  an  ornamented  pillar,  and 
on  the  walls  was  the  print  of  the  mysterious  red 
hand.  Turn  which  way  we  would,  ruin  was  be- 
fore us.  At  right  angles  with  the  first  building 
was  a  line  of  ruined  walls,  following  which  I 
passed,  lying  on  the  ground,  the  headless  trunk 


ARRIVAL    AT    B  O  L  O  N  C  H  E  N.  141 

of  a  sculptured  body ;  the  legs,  too,  were  gone. 
At  the  end  was  an  arch,  which  seemed,  at  a  dis- 
tance, to  stand  entire  and  alone,  like  that  named 
the  arch  of  triumph  at  Kabah  ;  but  it  proved  to  be 
only  the  open  and  broken  arch  of  a  ruined  building. 
From  the  extent  of  these  remains,  the  masses  of 
sculptured  stones,  and  the  execution  of  the  carving, 
this  must  have  been  one  of  the  first  class  of  the  ab- 
original cities.  In  moral  influence  there  was  none 
more  powerful.  Ruin  had  been  so  complete  that 
we  could  not  profit  by  the  kindness  of  our  friends, 
and  it  was  melancholy  that  when  so  much  had  been 
done  for  us,  there  was  so  little  for  us  to  do.  It  was 
but  another  witness  to  the  desolation  that  had  swept 
over  the  land. 

A  short  ride  brought  us  to  the  suburbs  of  the  village 
of  Bolonchen,  and  we  entered  a  long  street,  with  a 
line  of  straggling  houses  or  huts  on  each  side.  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon.  Indian  children  were  playing 
in  the  road,  and  Indians,  returned  from  their  work, 
were  swinging  in  hammocks  within  the  huts.  As  we 
advanced,  we  saw  a  vecino,  with  a  few  neighbours 
around  him,  sitting  in  the  doorway  thrumming  a  gui- 
tar. It  was,  perhaps,  a  scene  of  indolence,  but  it  was 
one  of  quiet  and  contentment,  of  comfort  and  even 
thrift.  Often,  in  entering  the  disturbed  villages  of 
Central  America,  among  intoxicated  Indians  and 
swaggering  white  men,  all  armed,  we  felt  a  degree  of 
uneasiness.  The  faces  that  looked  upon  us  seemed 
scowling  and  suspicious;  we  always  apprehended 


142 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


insult,  and  frequently  were  not  disappointed.  Here 
all  looked  at  us  with  curiosity,  but  without  distrust ; 
every  face  bore  a  welcome,  and,  as  we  rode  through, 
all  gave  us  a  friendly  greeting.  At  the  head  of  the 
street  the  plaza  opened  upon  us  on  a  slight  eleva- 
tion, with  groups  of  Indian  women  in  the  centre 
drawing  water  from  the  well,  and  reUeved  against  a 
background  of  green  hills  rising  above  the  tops  of 
the  houses,  which,  under  the  reflection  of  the  setting 
sun,  gave  a  beauty  and  picturesqueness  of  aspect 
that  no  other  village  in  the  country  had  exhibited. 
On  the  left,  on  a  raised  platform,  stood  the  church, 
and  by  its  side  the  convent.  In  consideration  of 
w  hat  the  cura  had  already  done  for  us,  and  that  we 
had  a  large  party — perceiving,  also,  that  the  casa 
real,  a  long  stone  building  with  a  broad  portico  in 
front,  w^as  really  inviting  in  its  appearance,  we  re- 
solved to  spare  the  cura,  and  rode  up  to  the  casa 
real.  Well-dressed  Indians,  with  a  portly,  well-fed 
cacique,  stood  ready  to  take  our  horses.  We  dis- 
mounted and  entered  the  principal  apartment.  On 
one  side  were  the  iron  gratings  of  the  prison,  and 
on  the  other  two  long  beams  of  wood  with  holes  in 
them  for  stocks,  and  a  caution  to  strangers  arriving 
in  the  village  to  be  on  their  good  behaviour.  Our 
carriers  had  arrived.  We  sent  out  to  buy  ramon 
and  corn  for  the  horses,  had  our  hammocks  swung, 
and  sat  down  under  the  corridor. 

We  had  hardly  time  to  seat  ourselves  before  the 
vecinos,  in  their  clean  afternoon  clothes,  and  some 


WELLS    OF  BOLONCHEN. 


143 


with  gold-headed  canes,  came  over  to  "  call  upon 
us."  All  were  profuse  in  offers  of  services ;  and  as 
it  veas  the  hour  for  that  refreshment,  we  had  a  per- 
plexing number  of  invitations  to  go  to  their  houses 
and  take  chocolate.  Among  our  visiters  was  a  young 
man  with  a  fine  black  beard  all  over  his  face,  well 
dressed,  and  the  only  one  wearing  a  black  hat,  whom, 
as  we  knew  they  were  about  drilling  companies  in 
the  villages  to  resist  the  apprehended  invasion  of 
Santa  Ana,  we  supposed  to  belong  to  the  army,  but 
we  afterward  learned  that  he  was  a  member  of  the 
church  militant,  being  the  ministro,  or  assistant,  of  the 
cura.  The  cura  himself  did  not  come,  but  one  of 
our  visiters,  looking  over  to  the  convent,  and  seeing 
the  doors  and  windows  closed,  said  he  was  still  ta- 
king his  siesta. 

We  had  time  to  look  at  the  only  objects  of  inter- 
est in  the  village,  and  these  were  the  wells,  which, 
after  our  straits  at  Chunhuhu,  were  a  refreshing  spec- 
tacle, and  of  which  our  horses  had  already  enjoyed 
the  benefit  by  a  bath. 

Bolonclien  derives  its  name  from  two  Maya 
words  :  Bolon,  which  signifies  nine,  and  chen,  wells, 
and  it  means  the  nine  wells.  From  time  immemo- 
rial, nine  wells  formed  at  this  place  the  centre  of  a 
population,  and  these  nine  wells  are  now  in  the  pla- 
za of  the  village.  Their  origin  is  as  obscure  and  un- 
known as  that  of  the  ruined  cities  which  strew  the 
land,  and  as  httle  thought  of. 

These  wells  were  circular  openings  cut  through 


144  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

a  Stratum  of  rock.  The  water  was  at  that  time  ten 
or  twelve  feet  from  the  surface,  and  in  all  it  was  at 
the  same  level.  The  source  of  this  water  is  a 
mystery  to  the  inhabitants,  but  there  are  some  facts 
which  seem  to  make  the  solution  simple.  The 
wells  are  mere  perforations  through  an  irregular  stra- 
tum of  rock,  all  communicate,  and  in  the  dry  season 
a  man  may  descend  in  one  and  come  out  by  anoth- 
er at  the  extreme  end  of  the  plaza ;  it  is  manifest, 
therefore,  that  the  water  does  not  proceed  from 
springs.  Besides,  the  wells  are  all  full  during  the 
rainy  season ;  when  this  is  over  the  water  begins  to 
disappear,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  dry  season  it  fails 
altogether ;  from  w^hich  it  would  appear  that  un- 
der the  surface  there  is  a  great  rocky  cavern,  into 
which  the  floods  of  the  rainy  season  find  a  way  by 
crevices  or  other  openings,  which  cannot  be  known 
without  a  survey  of  the  country,  and,  having  little  or 
no  escape,  are  retained,  and  furnish  a  supply  so  long 
as  they  are  augmented  by  the  rains. 

The  custody  and  preservation  of  these  wells  form 
a  principal  part  of  the  business  of  the  village  author- 
ities, but,  with  all  their  care,  the  supply  lasts  but  sev- 
en or  eight  months  in  the  year.  This  year,  on  ac- 
count of  the  long  continuance  of  the  rainy  season,  it 
had  lasted  longer  than  usual,  and  was  still  abundant. 
The  time  was  approaching,  however,  when  these 
wells  would  fail,  and  the  inhabitants  be  driven  to  an 
extraordinary  cueva  at  half  a  league  from  the  village. 

At  about  dark  Mr.  Catherwood  arrived,  and  we 


VISIT    TO    AN   EXTRAORDINARY  CAVE.  145 

returned  to  the  casa  real.  In  a  room  fifty  feet  long, 
free  from  fleas,  servants,  and  Indian  carriers,  and 
with  a  full  swing  for  our  hammocks,  we  had  a  hap- 
py change  from  the  hut  at  Chunhuhu. 

During  the  evening  the  cura  came  over  to  see  us, 
but,  finding  we  had  retired,  did  not  disturb  us  ;  early 
in  the  morning  he  was  rapping  at  our  door,  and 
would  not  leave  us  till  we  promised  to  come  over 
and  take  chocolate  with  him. 

As  we  crossed  the  plaza  he  came  out  to  meet  us, 
in  black  gown  and  cape,  bare-headed,  with  white 
hair  streaming,  and  both  arms  extended;  embraced 
us  all,  and,  with  the  tone  of  a  man  who  considered 
that  he  had  not  been  treated  well,  reproached  us  for 
not  coming  directly  to  the  convent;  then  led  us  in, 
showed  us  its  comforts  and  conveniences,  insisted 
upon  sending  for  our  luggage,  and  only  consented 
to  postpone  doing  so  while  we  consulted  on  our 
plans. 

These  were,  to  leave  Bolonchen  in  the  afternoon 
for  the  ruins  of  San  Antonio,  four  leagues  distant. 
The  cura  had  never  heard  of  such  ruins,  and  did 
not  beheve  that  any  existed,  but  lie  knew  the  haci- 
enda, and  sent  out  to  procure  information.  In  the 
mean  time  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  employ 
the  morning  in  a  visit  to  the  cueva,  and  return  to 
dine  with  him.  He  reminded  us  that  it  was  Friday, 
and,  consequently,  fast  day  ;  but,  knowing  the  pa- 
dres as  we  did,  we  had  no  apprehension. 

There  was  one  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  our 
13 


146 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


visiting  the  cueva  at  this  time.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rainy  season  it  had  not  been 
used ;  and  every  year,  before  having  recourse  to  it, 
there  was  a  work  of  several  days  to  be  done  in  re- 
pairing the  ladders.  As  this,  however,  was  our  only 
opportunity,  we  determined  to  make  the  attempt. 

The  cura  undertook  to  make  the  arrangements, 
and  after  breakfast  we  set  out,  a  large  party,  inclu- 
ding both  Indians  and  vecinos. 

At  the  distance  of  half  a  league  from  the  village, 
on  the  Campeachy  road,  we  turned  off  by  a  well- 
beaten  path,  following  which  we  fell  into  a  winding 
lane,  and,  descending  gradually,  reached  the  foot  of 
a  rude,  lofty,  and  abrupt  opening,  under  a  bold  ledge 
of  overhanging  rock,  seeming  a  magnificent  entrance 
to  a  great  temple  for  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Na- 
ture. The  engraving  which  follows  represents  this 
aperture,  an  Indian  with  a  lighted  torch  being  seen 
just  entering. 

We  disencumbered  ourselves  of  superfluous  ap- 
parel, and,  following  the  Indian,  each  with  a  torch 
in  hand,  entered  a  wild  cavern,  which,  as  we  ad- 
vanced, became  darker.  At  the  distance  of  sixty 
paces  the  descent  was  precipitous,  and  we  went 
down  by  a  ladder  about  twenty  feet.  Here  all  light 
from  the  mouth  of  the  cavern  was  lost,  but  we  soon 
reached  the  brink  of  a  great  perpendicular  descent, 
to  the  very  bottom  of  which  a  strong  body  of  light 
was  thrown  from  a  hole  in  the  surface,  a  perpen- 
dicular depth,  as  we  afterward  learned  by  measure- 


A    WILD  SCENE. 


147 


ment,  of  two  hundred  and  ten  feet.  As  we  stood 
on  the  brink  of  this  precipice,  under  the  shelving  of 
an  immense  mass  of  rock,  seeming  darker  from  the 
stream  of  hght  thrown  down  the  hole,  gigantic  sta- 
lactites and  huge  blocks  of  stone  assumed  all  man- 


148 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ner  of  fantastic  shapes,  and  seemed  like  monstrous 
animals  or  deities  of  a  subterranean  world. 

From  the  brink  on  which  we  stood  an  enormous 
ladder,  of  the  rudest  possible  construction,  led  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hole.  It  was  between  seventy  and 
eighty  feet  long,  and  about  twelve  feet  wide,  made  of 
the  rough  trunks  of  saplings  lashed  together  length- 
wise, and  supported  all  the  way  down  by  horizontal 
trunks  braced  against  the  face  of  the  precipitous 
rock.  The  ladder  was  double,  having  two  sets  or 
flights  of  rounds,  divided  by  a  middle  partition,  and 
the  whole  fabric  was  lashed  together  by  withes.  It 
was  very  steep,  seemed  precarious  and  insecure,  and 
confirmed  the  worst  accounts  we  had  heard  of  the 
descent  into  this  remarkable  well. 

Our  Indians  began  the  descent,  but  the  fore- 
most had  scarcely  got  his  head  below  the  surface 
before  one  of  the  rounds  slipped,  and  he  only  saved 
himself  by  clinging  to  another.  The  ladder  having 
been  made  when  the  withes  were  green,  these  were 
now  dry,  cracked,  and  some  of  them  broken.  We 
attempted  a  descent  with  some  little  misgivings,  but, 
by  keeping  each  hand  and  foot  on  a  different  round, 
with  an  occasional  crash  and  slide,  we  all  reached 
the  foot  of  the  ladder ;  that  is,  our  own  party,  our 
Indians,  and  some  three  or  four  of  our  escort,  the 
rest  having  disappeared. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  scene  at  the 
foot  of  this  ladder.  Looking  up,  the  view  of  its  bro- 
ken sides,  with  the  light  thrown  down  from  the  orifice 


A    SUBTERRANEAN    BALL-ROOM.  149 

above,  was  the  wildest  that  can  be  conceived.  As 
jet  the  reader  is  only  at  the  mouth  of  this  well ;  but, 
to  explain  to  him  briefly  its  extraordinary  charac- 
ter, I  give  its  name,  which  is  Xtacumbi  Xunan. 
The  Indians  understand  by  this  La  Senora  escondi- 
da,  or  the  lady  hidden  away  ;  and  it  is  derived  from 
a  fanciful  Indian  story  that  a  lady  stolen  from  her 
mother  was  concealed  by  her  lover  in  this  cave. 

Every  year,  when  the  wells  in  the  plaza  are  about 
to  fail,  the  ladders  are  put  into  a  thorough  state  of 
repair.  A  day  is  appointed  by  the  municipality  for 
closing  the  wells  in  the  plaza,  and  repairing  to  the  cu- 
eva  ;  and  on  that  day  a  great  village  fete  is  held  in  the 
cavern  at  the  foot  of  this  ladder.  On  the  side  lead- 
ing to  the  wells  is  a  rugged  chamber,  with  a  lofty 
overhanging  roof  and  a  level  platform  ;  the  walls  of 
this  rocky  chamber  are  dressed  with  branches  and 
hung  with  hghts,  and  the  whole  village  comes  out 
with  refreshments  and  music.  The  cura  is  with 
them,  a  leader  of  the  mirth ;  and  the  day  is  passed 
in  dancing  in  the  cavern,  and  rejoicing  that  when 
one  source  of  supply  fails  another  is  opened  to  their 
need. 

The  engraving  which  follows  will  give  some 
imperfect  idea  of  a  section  of  this  cave  from  the 
entrance  to  the  foot  of  the  great  ladder,  with  the  or- 
ifice through  which  the  hght  descends  from  above, 
and  the  wild  path  that  leads  deeper  into  the  bowels 
of  the  rock  and  down  to  the  water. 

On  one  side  of  the  cavern  is  an  opening  in  the 


150  Ix\CIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


(sccfle  of  Sect. 


T ...        ....  \  I  ^ 

r  c  g.j.L.  

rock,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  entering  by  which, 
we  soon  came  to  an  abrupt  descent,  down  which  was 
another  long  and  trying  ladder.  It  was  laid  against 
the  broken  face  of  the  rock,  not  so  steep  as  the  first, 
but  in  a  much  more  rickety  condition ;  the  rounds 
were  loose,  and  the  upper  ones  gave  way  on  the 
first  attempt  to  descend.  The  cave  w^as  damp,  and 
the  rock  and  the  ladder  were  wet  and  slippery.  At 
this  place  the  rest  of  our  attendants  left  us,  the  min- 
istro  being  the  last  deserter.    It  was  evident  that 


LABORIOUS  DESCENT. 


151 


the  labour  of  exploring  this  cave  was  to  be  greatly 
increased  by  the  state  of  the  ladders,  and  there  might 
be  some  danger  attending  it,  but,  even  after  all  that 
we  had  seen  of  caves,  there  was  something  so  wild 
and  grand  in  this  that  we  could  not  bring  ourselves 
to  give  up  the  attempt.  Fortunately,  the  cura  had 
taken  care  to  provide  us  with  rope,  and,  fastening 
one  end  round  a  large  stone,  an  Indian  carried  the 
other  down  to  the  foot  of  the  ladder.  We  followed, 
one  at  a  time  ;  holding  the  rope  with  one  hand,  and 
with  the  other  grasping  the  side  of  the  ladder,  it 
was  impossible  to  carry  a  torch,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  feel  our  way  in  the  dark,  or  with  only  such  light  as 
could  reach  us  from  the  torches  above  and  below.  At 
the  foot  of  this  ladder  was  a  large  cavernous  cham- 
ber, from  which  irregular  passages  led  off  in  differ- 
ent directions  to  deposites  or  sources  of  water. 
Doctor  Cabot  and  myself,  attended  by  Albino,  took 
one  of  the  passages  indicated  by  the  Indians,  of 
which  some  imperfect  idea  is  given  in  the  section. 

Moving  on  by  a  slight  ascent  over  the  rocks,  at 
the  distance  of  about  seventy-five  feet  we  came  to 
the  foot  of  a  third  ladder  nine  feet  long,  two  or 
three  steps  beyond  another  five  feet  high,  both 
which  we  had  to  go  up,  and  six  paces  farther  a  fifth, 
descending,  and  eighteen  feet  in  length.  A  httle 
beyond  we  descended  another  ladder  eleven  feet 
long,  and  yet  a  little  farther  on  we  came  to  one — 
the  seventh — the  length  and  general  appearance  of 
which  induced  us  to  pause  and  consider.    By  this 


152  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

time  Albino  was  the  only  attendant  left.    This  long 
ladder  was  laid  on  a  narrow,  sloping  face  of  rock, 
protected  on  one  side  by  a  perpendicular  wall,  but  at 
the  other  open  and  precipitous.    Its  aspect  was  un- 
propitious,  but  we  determined  to  go  on.  Holding 
by  the  side  of  the  ladder  next  the  rock,  we  descend- 
ed, crashing  and  carrying  down  the  loose  rounds,  so 
that  when  we  got  to  the  bottom  we  had  cut  off  all 
communication  with  Albino ;  he  could  not  descend, 
and,  what  was  quite  as  inconvenient,  we  could  not 
get  back.    It  was  now  too  late  to  reflect.    We  told 
Albino  to  throw  down  our  torches,  and  go  back  for 
Indians  and  rope  to  haul  us  out.    In  the  mean  time 
we  moved  on  by  a  broken,  winding  passage,  and,  at 
the  distance  of  about  two  hundred  feet,  came  to  the 
top  of  a  ladder  eight  feet  long,  at  the  foot  of  which 
we  entered  a  low  and  stifling  passage  ;  and  crawhng 
along  this  on  our  hands  and  feet,  at  the  distance  of 
about  three  hundred  feet  we  came  to  a  rocky  basin 
full  of  water.    Before  reaching  it  one  of  our  torches 
had  gone  out,  and  the  other  was  then  expiring.  From 
the  best  calculation  I  can  make,  which  is  not  far  out 
of  the  way,  we  were  then  fourteen  hundred  feet 
from  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and  at  a  perpendicular 
depth  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet.    As  may  be 
supposed  from  what  the  reader  already  knows  of 
these  wells,  we  were  black  with  smoke,  grimed  with 
dirt,  and  dripping  with  perspiration.    Water  was 
the  most  pleasant  spectacle  that  could  greet  our 
eyes;  but  it  did  not  satisfy  us  to  drink  it  only,  we 


EXPLORATION   OF   ANOTHER   PASSAGE.  153 

wanted  a  more  thorough  benefit.  Our  exphing 
torch  warned  us  to  forbear,  for  in  the  dark  we 
might  never  be  able  to  find  our  way  back  to  upper 
earth ;  but,  trusting  that  if  we  did  not  reappear  in 
the  course  of  the  week  Mr.  Catherwood  would  come 
to  the  rescue,  we  whipped  off  our  scanty  covering, 
and  stepped  into  the  pool.  It  was  just  large  enough 
to  prevent  us  from  interfering  with  each  other,  and 
we  achieved  a  bath  which,  perhaps,  no  white  man 
ever  before  took  at  that  depth  under  ground. 

The  Indians  call  this  basin  Chacka,  which  means 
agua  Colorado,  or  red  water ;  but  this  we  did  not 
know  at  the  time,  and  we  did  not  discover  it,  for  to 
economize  our  torch  we  avoided  flaring  it,  and  it 
lay  on  the  rock  like  an  expiring  brand,  admonishing 
us  that  it  was  better  not  to  rely  wholly  upon  our 
friends  in  the  world  above,  and  that  it  would  be 
safer  to  look  out  for  ourselves.  Hurrying  out,  we 
made  a  rapid  toilet,  and,  groping  our  way  back,  with 
our  torch  just  bidding  us  farewell,  we  reached  the 
foot  of  the  broken  ladder,  and  could  go  no  farther. 
Albino  returned  with  Indians  and  ropes.  We  haul- 
ed ourselves  up,  and  got  back  to  the  open  chamber 
from  which  the  passages  diverged ;  and  here  the  In- 
dians pointed  out  another,  which  we  followed  till  it 
became  lower  than  any  we  had  yet  explored ;  and, 
according  to  Doctor  Cabot's  measurement,  at  the 
distance  of  four  hundred  and  one  paces,  by  mine, 
three  hundred  and  ninety-seven,  we  came  to  anoth- 
er basin  of  water.    This,  as  we  afterward  learned, 

Vol.  IL--U 


154 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


is  called  Puouelha,  meaning  that  it  ebbs  and  flows 
like  the  sea.  The  Indians  say  that  it  recedes  with 
the  south  wind,  and  increases  with  the  northwest ; 
and  they  add  that  when  they  go  to  it  silently  they 
find  water;  but  when  they  talk  or  make  a  noise 
the  water  disappears.  Perhaps  it  is  not  so  capri- 
cious with  white  men,  for  we  found  water,  and  did 
not  approach  it  with  sealed  lips.  The  Indians  say, 
besides,  that  forty  women  once  fainted  in  this  pas- 
sage, and  that  now  they  do  not  allow  the  wom- 
en to  go  to  it  alone.  In  returning  we  turned 
off  twice  by  branching  passages,  and  reached  two 
other  basins  of  water;  and  when  we  got  back  to 
the  foot  of  the  great  staircase,  exhausted  and  almost 
worn  out,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  learning,  from 
friends  who  were  waiting  to  hear  our  report,  that 
there  were  seven  in  all,  and  we  had  missed  three. 
All  have  names  given  them  by  the  Indians,  two  of 
which  I  have  already  mentioned. 

The  third  is  called  Sallab,  which  means  a  spring ; 
the  fourth  Akahba,  on  account  of  its  darkness  ;  the 
fifth  Chocoha,  from  the  circumstance  of  its  being  al- 
ways warm  ;  the  sixth  Ooiha,  from  being  of  a  milky 
colour ;  and  the  seventh  Chimaisha,  because  it  has 
insects  called  ais. 

It  was  a  matter  of  some  regret  that  we  were  not 
able  to  mark  such  peculiarities  or  differences  as 
might  exist  in  these  waters,  and  particularly  that  we 
were  not  provided  with  barometer  and  thermometer 
to  ascertain  the  relative  heights  and  temperatures. 


GREAT  IMPORTANCE   OF  THIS   CAVE.  155 


If  we  had  been  at  all  advised  beforehand,  we  should 
at  least  have  carried  the  latter  with  us,  but  always 
in  utter  ignorance  of  what  we  were  to  encounter, 
our  great  object  was  to  be  as  free  as  possible  from 
all  encumbrances;  besides  which,  to  tell  the  truth, 
we  did  some  things  in  that  country,  among  which 
was  the  exploring  of  these  caves,  for  our  own  satis- 
faction, and  without  much  regard  to  the  claims  of 
science.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  of  transition 
or  mountain  limestone ;  and  though  almost  invaria- 
bly the  case  in  this  formation,  perhaps  here  to  a 
greater  extent  than  anywhere  else,  it  abounds  in  fis- 
sures and  caverns,  in  which  springs  burst  forth  sud- 
denly, and  streams  pursue  a  subterranean  course. 
But  the  sources  of  the  water  and  the  geological  for- 
mation of  the  country  were,  at  the  moment,  matters 
of  secondary  interest  to  us.  The  great  point  was 
the  fact,  that  from  the  moment  when  the  wells  in 
the  plaza  fail,  the  whole  village  turns  to  this  cave, 
and  four  or  five  months  in  the  year  derives  from  this 
source  its  only  supply.  It  was  not,  as  at  Xcoch,  the 
resort  of  a  straggling  Indian,  nor,  as  at  Chack,  of  a 
small  and  inconsiderable  rancho.  It  was  the  sole 
and  only  watering  place  of  one  of  the  most  thriving 
villages  in  Yucatan,  containing  a  population  of  sev- 
en thousand  souls ;  and  perhaps  even  this  was  sur- 
passed in  wonder  by  the  fact  that,  though  for  an  un- 
known length  of  time,  and  through  a  great  portion 
of  the  year,  files  of  Indians,  men  and  women,  are 
going  out  every  day  with  cantaros  on  their  backs, 


156 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


and  returning  with  water,  and  though  the  fame  of 
the  Cueva  of  Bolonchen  extends  throughout  Yuca- 
tan, from  the  best  information  we  could  procure,  not 
a  white  man  in  the  village  had  ever  Explored  it. 

We  returned  to  the  casa  real,  made  a  lavation, 
which  we  much  needed,  and  went  over  to  the  cura's 
to  dine.  If  he  had  not  reminded  us  beforehand  that 
it  was  Friday  and  Lent,  we  should  not  have  discov- 
ered it.  In  fact,  we  were  not  used  to  dainties,  and 
perhaps  the  good  cura  thought  we  had  never  dined 
before.  It  was  not  in  nature  to  think  of  moving  that 
afternoon,  and,  besides,  we  were  somewhat  at  a  loss 
what  to  do.  The  cura  had  unsettled  our  plans.  He 
had  made  inquiries,  and  been  informed  that  there 
were  no  ruins  at  San  Antonio,  but  only  a  cueva,  and 
we  had  had  enough  of  these  to  last  us  for  some  time  ; 
moreover,  he  advised  us  of  other  ruins,  of  which  we 
had  not  heard  before.  These  were  on  the  rancho 
of  Santa  Ana,  belongii*g  to  his  friend  Don  Antonio 
Cerbera,  the  alcalde.  Don  Antonio  had  never  seen 
them,  but  both  he  and  the  cura  said  they  intended  to 
visit  them  ;  and  they  spoke  particularly  of  a  casa  cer- 
rada,  or  closed  house,  which,  as  soon  as  the  dry  sea- 
son came  on,  they  intended  to  visit  con  bombas,  to 
blow  it  up  !  The  cura  was  so  bent  upon  our  visit- 
ing this  place,  that  almost  in  spite  of  ourselves  we 
were  turned  in  that  direction. 


DEPARTURE    FROM  BOLONCHEN. 


157 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Departure  from  Bolonchen. — Lose  the  Road. — Sugar  Rancho, — A 
new  Section  of  Country. — Rancho  of  Santa  Rosa. — Annoy- 
ance from  Fleas. — Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Labphak. — A  lofty 
Structure. — Apartments,  &c. — Staircases. — Doorways. — Inter- 
esting Discovery. — Courtyard. — Square  Building  on  the  second 
Terrace. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Oblong  Building  on  the  third 
Terrace. — Colossal  Figures  and  Ornaments. — Centre  Apart- 
ment.— Tokens  of  recent  Occupation. — Ground  Plan  of  the  low- 
er Range  of  Apartments.— Sculptured  Bas-reliefs. — Builders 
adapted  their  Style  to  the  Materials  at  Hand.— Abode  at  the 
Ruins. — Wants. — Moonlight  Scene. — Painting.— Circular  Holes. 
— Range  of  Buildings. — Staircases. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. — 
Rain. — Love  of  the  Marvellous. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  resumed  our  journey. 
On  leaving  the  village  we  were  soon  again  in  the 
wilderness.  Albino  remained  behind  to  breakfast  ; 
we  had  not  gone  far  before  we  came  to  a  fork  of  the 
road,  and  took  one  of  the  branches,  by  which  we 
missed  our  way,  and  rode  on  over  a  great  plain  cov- 
ered with  bushes  above  our  horses'  heads,  the  path 
finally  becoming  so  completely  choked  up  that  it 
was  impossible  to  continue.  We  turned  back  and 
took  another ;  and,  keeping  as  near  as  possible,  by 
the  compass^  what  we  understood  to  be  the  direc- 
tion, came  out  upon  a  muddy  aguada,  covered  with 
weeds,  and  beyond  this  a  sugar  rancho,  the  first  we 
had  seen  in  Yucatan,  indicating  that  we  were  enter- 

14 


158 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ing  a  different  section  of  country.  We  had  esca- 
ped the  region  of  eternal  stones,  and  the  soil  was 
rich  and  loamy.  A  league  beyond  this  we  reached 
the  rancho  of  Santa  Rosa.  It  was  a  very  rare  thing 
in  this  country  to  notice  any  place  for  its  beauty  of 
situation,  but  we  were  struck  with  this,  though  per- 
haps its  beauty  consisted  merely  in  standing  upon  a 
slight  elevation,  and  commanding  a  view  of  an  open 
country. 

The  major  domo  was  somewhat  surprised  at  the 
object  of  our  visit.  The  ruins  were  about  two 
leagues  distant,  but  he  had  never  seen  them,  and 
had  no  great  opinion  of  ruins  generally.  He  imme- 
diately sent  out,  however,  to  notify  the  Indians  to 
be  on  the  ground  in  the  morning,  and  during  the 
evening  he  brought  in  one  who  was  to  be  our  guide. 
By  way  of  getting  some  idea  of  the  ruins,  we 
showed  him  some  of  Mr.  Catherwood's  drawings, 
and  asked  him  if  his  bore  any  resemblance  to  them. 
He  looked  at  them  all  attentively,  and  pointed  to  the 
blanks  left  for  the  doorways  as  the  points  of  resem- 
blance ;  from  his  manner  we  got  the  impression  that 
we  should  have  to  thank  the  cura  for  a  bootless 
visit. 

The  night  at  this  rancho  was  a  memorable  one. 
We  were  so  scourged  by  fleas  that  sleep  was  im- 
possible. Mr.  Catherwood  and  Dr.  Cabot  resorted 
to  the  Central  American  practice  of  sewing  up  the 
sheets  into  a  bag,  and  all  night  we  were  in  a  fever. 

The  next  morning  we  started  for  the  ruins  of  Lab- 


RUINS    OF  LABPHAK. 


159 


phak,  taking  care  to  carry  our  luggage  with  us,  and  not 
intending,  under  any  circumstances,  to  return.  The 
major  domo  accompanied  us.  It  was  hixurious  to  ride 
on  a  road  free  from  stones.  In  an  hour  we  entered 
a  forest  of  fine  trees,  and  a  league  beyond  found  a 
party  of  Indians,  who  pointed  us  to  a  narrow  path 
just  opened,  wilder  than  anything  we  had  yet  travel- 
led. After  following  this  some  distance,  the  Indians 
stopped,  and  made  signs  to  us  to  dismount.  Secu- 
ring the  horses,  and  again  following  the  Indians,  in 
a  few  minutes  we  saw  peering;  through  the  trees  the 
white  front  of  a  lofty  building,  which,  in  the  imper- 
fect view  we  had  of  it,  seemed  the  grandest  we  had 
seen  in  the  country.  It  had  three  stories,  the  up- 
permost consisting  of  -a  bare  dead  wall,  without  any 
doorways,  being,  the  Indians  told  us,  the  casa  cerra- 
da,  or  closed  house,  which  the  cura  and  alcalde 
intended  to  open  con  bombas.  The  whole  build- 
ing, with  all  its  terraces,  was  overgrown  with  gigan- 
tic trees.  The  Indians  cutting  a  path  along  the 
front,  we  moved  on  from  door  to  door,  and  wan- 
dered through  its  desolate  chambers.  For  the  first 
time  in  the  country  we  found  interior  staircases, 
one  of  which  was  entire,  every  step  being  in  its 
place.  The  stones  were  worn,  and  we  almost  ex- 
pected to  see  the  foot-prints  of  the  former  occu- 
pants. With  hurried  interest  we  moved  on  till  we 
reached  the  top.  This  commanded  an  extensive 
view  over  a  great  wooded  and  desolate  plain,  to 
which  the  appearance  of  the  heavens  gava  at  the 


160  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


moment  an  air  of  additional  dreariness.  The  sky 
was  overcast,  and  portended  the  coming  of  another 
Norte.  The  wind  swept  over  the  ruined  building, 
so  that  in  places  we  were  obUged  to  cling  to  the 
branches  of  the  trees  to  save  ourselves  from  falling. 
An  eagle  stayed  his  flight  through  the  air  and  hov- 
ered over  our  heads.  At  a  great  height  Doctor  Ca- 
bot recognised  it  as  one  of  a  rare  species,  the  first 
which  he  had  seen  in  the  country,  and  stood  with  his 
gun  ready,  hoping  to  carry  it  home  with  him  as  a 
memorial  of  the  place  ;  but  the  proud  bird  soared 
away. 

It  seemed  almost  sacrilege  to  disturb  the  repose  in 
which  this  building  lay,  and  to  remove  its  burial 
shroud,  but  soon,  amid  the  ringing  of  the  axe  and 
machete,  and  the  crash  of  falling  trees,  this  feeling 
wore  away.  We  had  thirty  Indians,  w^ho,  w^orking 
under  the  direction  of  the  major  domo,  were  equal 
to  forty  or  fifty  in  our  hands,  and  there  was  the 
most  glorious  excitement  I  had  experienced  in  walk- 
ing along  these  terraces,  with  Albino  and  the  ma- 
jor domo  to  convey  my  directions  to  the  Indians. 
Indeed,  I  can  hardly  imagine  a  higher  excitement 
than  to  go  through  that  country  with  a  strong 
force,  time,  and  means  at  command,  to  lay  bare  the 
whole  region  in  which  so  many  ruined  cities  are 
now  buried. 

In  the  mean  time  Mr.  Catherwood,  still  an  inva- 
lid, and  deprived  of  sleep  the  night  before,  had  his 
hammock  slung  in  an  apartment  at  the  top  of  the 


i 


A    GRAND  STRUCTURE. 


161 


building.  Bj  afternoon  the  clearing  was  finished, 
and  he  made  his  drawing,  which  appears  in  the  en- 
graving opposite. 

The  lowest  range  or  story  is  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  feet  in  length.  The  roof  and  a  portion 
of  the  facade  have  fallen,  and  almost  buried  the  cen- 
tre  doorways.  The  apartments  containing  the  stair- 
cases are  indicated  in  a  plan  hereinafter  presented. 
Each  staircase  consists  of  two  flights,  with  a  plat- 
form at  the  head  of  the  first,  which  forms  the  foot 
of  the  second,  and  they  lead  out  upon  the  roof,  un- 
der the  projection  which  stands  like  a  watch-tower 
in  the  wall  of  the  second  range,  and  from  this  range 
two  interior  staircases  lead  out  in  the  same  way  to 
the  platform  of  the  third. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  in  the  second  and 
third  ranges  there  are  no  openings  of  any  kind  ex- 
cept those  at  the  head  of  the  staircases,  but  simply 
a' plain,  solid  wall.  At  first  sight  of  this  wall  we 
thought  we  had  really  at  last  found  a  casa  cerrada, 
and  almost  wished  for  the  cura  with  his  bombas. 
The  major  domo,  looking  up  at  it,  called  it  so  ;  but 
it  seemed  strange  that  such  a  character  had  ever 
been  ascribed  to  it ;  for,  barely  working  our  way 
round  the  platform  of  the  terrace,  we  found  ranges 
of  doorways  opening  into  apartments,  and  that  this 
was  merely  what  we  had  often  seen  before,  a  back 
wall  without  doors  or  windows.  And  we  made  an- 
other much  more  interesting  and  important  discov- 
ery.   The  elevation  which  we  came  upon  first,  fa- 

VoL.  XL— X 


162 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


cing  the  west,  and  shown  in  the  engraving,  noble 
and  majestic  as  it  was,  was  actually  the  rear  of  the 
building,  and  the  front,  facing  the  east,  presented  the 
tottering  remains  of  the  grandest  structure  that  now 
rears  its  ruined  head  in  the  forests  of  Yucatan. 

In  front  was  a  grand  courtyard,  with  ranges  of 
ruined  buildings,  forming  a  hollow  square,  and  in 
the  centre  a  gigantic  staircase  rose  from  the  court- 
yard to  the  platform  of  the  third  story.  On  the 
platform  of  the  second  terrace,  at  each  end,  stood  a 
high  square  building  like  a  tower,  with  the  remains 
of  rich  ornaments  in  stucco  ;  and  on  the  platform 
of  the  third,  at  the  head  of  the  grand  staircase,  one 
on  each  side  of  it,  stood  two  oblong  buildings,  their 
facades  adorned  with  colossal  figures  and  ornaments 
in  stucco,  seemingly  intended  as  a  portal  to  the 
structure  on  the  top.  In  ascending  the  grand  stair- 
case, cacique,  priest,  or  stranger  had  before  him  this 
gorgeously  ornamented  portal,  and  passed  through  it 
to  enter  the  centre  apartment  of  the  upper  story. 

This  apartment,  Vowever,  does  not  correspond 
with  the  grandeur  of  \he  approach,  and,  according 
to  our  understanding  of  proprieties,  the  view  of  it  is 
attended  with  disappointment.  It  is  twenty-three 
feet  long,  only  five  feet  six  inches  wide,  and  perfect- 
ly plain,  without  painting  or  ornament  of  any  kind. 
But  in  this  lofty  chamber  were  strange  memorials, 
tokens  of  recent  occupation,  indicating,  amid  the  des- 
olation and  solitude  around,  that  within  a  few  years 
this  ruined  edifice,  from  which  the  owners  had  per- 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  THE   LOWER  RANGE.  163 


haps  fled  in  terror,  or  been  driven  by  the  sword,  had 
been  the  refuge  and  abode  of  man.  In  the  holes 
of  the  archway  were  poles  for  the  support  of  ham- 
mocks, and  at  each  end  were  swinging  shelves  made 
of  twigs  and  rods.  When  the  cholera  swept  hke  a 
scourge  over  this  isolated  country,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  villages  and  ranchos  fled  for  safety  to  the  mount- 
ains and  the  wilderness.  This  desolate  building 
was  repeopled,  this  lofty  chamber  was  the  abode  of 
some  scared  and  stricken  family,  and  here,  amid 
hardships  and  privations,  they  waited  till  the  angel 
of  death  passed  by. 

The  engraving  which  follows  represents  the 
ground-plan  of  the  lower  range.    It  consists  of  ran- 


BO      40       30      SO      10        O  50Teet 

1  I  '  I  I  I   1 


ges  of  narrow  apartments  on  all  four  of  the  sides, 
opening  outward,  and  the  reader  will  see  that  it  has 
fitness,  and  uniformity  of  design  and  proportion. 
The  grand  staircase,  forty  feet  wide,  is  indicated  in 
the  engraving.    The  interior,  represented  in  blank, 


164 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


forms  the  foundation  for  the  support  of  the  two  up- 
per ranges.  It  is  cut  off  and  enclosed  on  all  sides 
by  the  inner  wall,  has  no  communication  with  any 
of  the  apartments,  and  is  apparently  a  solid  mass. 
Whether  it  really  is  solid  or  contains  apartments, 
remains,  as  in  other  structures  of  the  same  kind, 
a  question  for  the  investigation  of  future  explorers. 
Under  the  circumstances  attending  our  visit,  we 
were  utterly  unable  to  attempt  anything  of  the  kind. 

The  reader  will  notice  in  the  plan  two  places 
marked  "  sculptured  bas-reliefs."  In  these  places 
are  carved  tablets  set  in  the  wall,  as  at  Palenque, 
and,  except  at  Palenque,  this  was  the  only  place  in 
all  our  wanderings  in  which  we  found  bas-reliefs 
thus  disposed.  We  were  now  moving  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Palenque,  though,  of  course,  at  a  great  dis- 
tance from  it ;  the  face  of  the  country  was  less  sto- 
ny, and  the  discovery  of  these  bas-reliefs,  and  the  in- 
crease and  profusion  of  stuccoed  ornaments,  in- 
duced the  impression  that,  in  getting  beyond  the 
great  limestone  surface,  the  builders  of  these  cities 
had  adapted  their  style  to  the  materials  at  hand,  un- 
til, at  Palenque,  instead  of  putting  up  great  facades 
of  rudely-carved  stone,  they  decorated  the  exterior 
with  ornaments  in  stucco,  and,  having  fewer  carved 
ornaments,  bestowed  upon  them  more  care  and  skill. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  bas-reliefs  re- 
ferred to.  Though  resembling  those  at  Palenque  in 
general  character  and  detail  of  ornament,  they  are 
greatly  inferior  in  design  and  execution.  Stand- 
ing in  the  outer  wall,  they  are  much  defaced  and 


ABODE    AT    THE  RUINS. 


165 


worn ;  the  tablets  on  the  south,  both  in  the  drawing 
and  Daguerreotype  view,  presented  a  confused  ap- 
pearance. Both  were  composed  of  separate  stones ; 
but  the  subjects  on  the  different  pieces  appeared,  in 
some  cases,  to  want  adaptation  to  each  other,  and 
almost  suggested  the  belief  that  they  were  fragments 
of  other  tablets,  put  together  without  much  regard 
to  design  of  any  kind. 

Night  was  almost  upon  us  when  Albino  inquired 
in  what  apartment  he  should  hang  up  our  hammocks. 
In  the  interest  of  our  immediate  occupations  we  had 
not  thought  of  this;  a  buzzing  in  the  woods  gave 
ominous  warning  of  moschetoes,  and  we  inchned  to 
the  highest  range ;  but  it  was  unsafe  to  carry  our 
things  up,  or  to  move  about  the  broken  terraces  in 
the  dark.    We  selected,  as  the  most  easy  of  access, 
the  rooms  indicated  in  the  engraving  by  the  second 
doorway  on  the  left,  which,  as  the  reader  may  see, 
~  was  partly  encumbered  in  front  by  the  ruins  of  the 
fa9ade  on  the  right.    We  secured  the  doorway 
against  moschetoes  with  the  black  muslin  used  for 
the  Daguerreotype  tent.    The  kitchen  was  estab- 
lished in  the  corner  room,  and  as  soon  as  all  was 
arranged  we  called  in  the  servants,  and  associated 
them  with  us  in  an  interesting  and  extraordinary 
sitting,  as  a  committee  of  ways  and  means.  The 
horses  were  well  provided  for  in  the  way  of  green 
food,  for  many  of  the  trees  cut  down  were  noble  ra- 
mons,  but  there  was  neither  corn  nor  water,  and  we 
were  equally  destitute  ourselves.    Except  our  sta- 


« 


166 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


pie  Stock  of  tea,  coffee,  chocolate,  and  a  few  rolls 
of  Bolonchen  bread  (like  all  the  bread  of  that  coun- 
try, sweetened,  and  only  made  to  be  used  with  cho- 
colate), we  had  nothing.  Morning  would  break 
upon  us  without  materials  for  a  breakfast.  Sum- 
mary measures  were  necessary,  and  I  went  out  to 
consult  with  the  major  domo  and  the  Indians.  They 
had  made  a  clearing  near  the  horses,  had  their  ham- 
mocks swung  under  the  trees,  and  a  large  fire  in 
the  centre.  All  vacated  their  hammocks,  and  were 
docile  as  doves  until  I  mentioned  the  necessity  of 
sending  immediately  for  provisions.  Completely 
the  creatures  of  habit,  used  to  ending  their  labours 
with  the  sun,  and  then  to  gossip  and  repose,  they 
could  not  bear  to  be  disturbed.  Money  was  no  ob- 
ject to  them  ;  and  but  for  the  major  domo  I  should 
not  have  been  able  to  accomplish  anything.  He 
selected  two,  each  of  whom  was  intrusted  with  part 
of  the  commission,  as  one  could  not  remember  all 
the  items,  and  a  written  memorandum  would,  of 
course,  be  of  no  use.  There  was  one  article,  the 
procuring  of  which  was  doubtful,  and  that  was  an 
oUa,  or  earthen  pot,  for  cooking;  no  Indian  had 
more  than  one  in  his  hut,  and  that  was  always  in 
use.  Our  messengers  were  instructed  to  buy,  hire, 
or  beg,  or  get  in  any  other  way  their  ingenuity 
might  suggest,  but  not  to  come  back  without  one. 

Relieved  in  this  important  matter,  the  encamp- 
ment under  the  trees,  with  the  swarthy  figures  of 
the  Indians  lighted  by  the  fire,  presented  a  fine  spec- 


FIRST    NIGHT   AT    THE  RUINS. 


167 


tacle,  and,  but  for  the  apprehension  of  moschetoes,  I 
should  have  been  tempted  to  hang  up  my  hammock 
amono;  them.  As  I  returned,  the  moon  was  beam- 
ing  magnificently  over  the  clearing,  lighting  up  the 
darkness  of  the  woods,  and  illuminating  the  great 
white  building  from  its  foundation  to  the  summit. 

We  had  some  apprehensions  for  the  night.  My 
hammock  was  swung  in  the  front  apartment.  Di- 
rectly over  my  head,  in  the  layer  of  flat  stones  along 
the  arch,  was  the  dim  outline  of  a  faded  red  painting 
like  that  first  seen  at  Kewick.  On  the  walls  were 
the  prints  of  the  mysterious  red  hand,  and  around 
were  the  tokens  of  recent  occupation  before  referred 
to,  adding  strength  to  the  reflection  always  pressing 
upon  our  minds,  what  tales  of  fear  and  wonder  these 
old  walls,  could  they  speak,  might  disclose.  We  had 
a  large  fire  built  in  one  corner  of  the  apartment,  but 
we  heard  no  moschetoes,  and  there  were  no  fleas. 
During  the  night  we  all  woke  up  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, only  to  congratulate  each  other  and  enjoy  the 
consciousness  of  feeling  ourselves  free  from  these 
Jittle  nuisances. 

Our  first  business  the  next  morning  was  to  send 
our  horses  ofl'to  drink,  and  to  procure  water  for  our- 
selves, for  the  Indians  had  exhausted  all  that  was 
found  in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks.  At  eleven  o'clock 
our  emissaries  returned  with  fowls,  eggs,  tortillas, 
and  an  olla,  the  last  of  which  they  had  hired  for  a 
medio,  but  for  that  day  only. 

■  Except  a  small  ruined  structure  which  we  passed 
on  the  way  to  this  building,  as  yet  we  had  seen  only 


168 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


this  one  with  the  ranges  around  the  courtyard.  It 
was  clear  that  it  did  not  stand  alone ;  but  we  were 
so  completely  buried  in  the  woods  that  it  was  utter- 
ly impossible  to  know  which  way  to  turn  in  search 
of  others.  In  making  our  clearing  we  had  stumbled 
upon  two  circular  holes,  like  those  found  at  Uxmal, 
which  the  Indians  called  chultunes,  or  cisterns,  and 
which  they  said  existed  in  all  parts,  and  Doctor  Ca- 
bot, in  pursuit  of  a  bird,  had  found  a  range  of  build- 
ings at  but  a  short  distance,  disconnected  from  each 
other,  and  having  their  facades  ornamented  with 
stucco. 

Going  out  to  the  path  from  which  we  had  turned 
off  to  reach  this  edifice,  and  proceeding  upon  it  a 
short  distance,  we  saw  through  the  trees  the  corner 
of  a  large  building,  which  proved  to  be  a  great  par- 
allelogram, enclosing  a  hollow  square.  In  the  cen- 
tre of  the  front  range  a  grand  but  ruined  staircase 
ascended  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of  the  building, 
and,  crossing  the  flat  roof,  we  found  a  corresponding 
staircase  leading  down  into  the  courtyard.  The 
richest  ornaments  were  on  the  side  facing  the  court- 
yard, being  of  stucco,  and  on  each  side  of  the  stair- 
case were  some  of  new  and  curious  design,  but,  un- 
fortunately, they  were  all  in  a  ruinous  condition. 
The  whole  courtyard  was  overgrown,  so  that  the 
buildings  facing  it  were  but  indistinctly  visible,  and 
in  some  places  not  at  all. 

In  the  afternoon  the  wind  increased  to  a  regular 
Norther,  and  at  night  all  the  Indians  were  driven  in 
by  the  rain. 


LOVE    OF    THE  MARVELLOUS. 


169 


The  next  day  the  rain  contmued,  and  the  major 
domo  left  us,  taking  w^ith  him  nearly  all  the  Indians. 
This  put  an  end  to  the  clearing,  Mr.  Gather  wood 
had  a  recurrence  of  fever,  and  in  the  intervals  of 
sunshine  Dr.  Cabot  and  myself  worked  with  the  Da- 
guerreotype. 

In  the  mean  time,  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
water  and  necessaries,  we  found  our  residence  at 
these  ruins  uncomfortable.  Our  Indians,  whom  we 
had  engaged  to  carry  our  luggage,  complained  of  the 
detention,  and,  to  crown  our  troubles,  the  owner  of 
the  olla  came,  and  insisted  upon  having  it  returned. 
Mr.  Catherwood,  too,  was  unable  to  work,  the 
woods  were  wet  with  the  rain,  and  we  considered 
it  advisable  to  change  the  scene.  There  is  no  place 
which  we  visited  that  we  were  so  reluctant  to  leave 
unfinished,  and  none  that  better  deserved  a  month's 
exploration.  It  remains  a  rich  and  almost  unbroken 
field  for  the  future  explorer,  and,  that  he  may  have 
something  to  excite  his  imagination,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  show  that  the  love  of  the  marvellous 
is  not  confined  to  any  one  country,  I  may  add  that, 
upon  the  strength  of  a  letter  of  mine  to  a  friend  in 
the  interior,  giving  an  account  of  the  discovery  of 
this  place,  and  mentioning  the  vestiges  of  six  build- 
ings, we  found,  on  our  return  to  Merida,  that  these 
six  had  gone  on  accumulating,  and  had  not  been 
fairly  brought  to  a  stop  till  they  had  reached  six 
hundred  ! 

Vol.  XL— Y  15 


170 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Departure  from  Labphak. — Sugar  Ranches. — Hacienda  of  Jalasac. 
—Cultivation  of  Sugar.— Another  Rancho.— Its  neat  Appear- 
ance.— Sehor  Trego's  Establishment. — A  Well. — Seybo  Trees. 
— Journey  resumed. — Village  of  Iturbide. — Its  Settlement  and 
rapid  Growth.— An  Acquaintance. — Oppressive  Attentions.— 
Lunar  Rainbow.— Appearance  of  the  Village. — Mound  of  Ru- 
ins.— Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Zibilnocac. — A  Well.— A  long  Edi- 
fice— Lazy  Escort. — An  anxious  Host.— Return  to  the  Village. 
— A  prosperous  Emigrant.— A  Dinner. — Medical  Practice. — De- 
plorable Condition  of  the  Country  in  regard  to  Medical  Aid. — 
Second  Visit  to  the  Ruins. — Front  of  an  Edifice. — Square  Struct- 
ures.— Interesting  Painting. — An  ancient  Well. — Mounds. — 
Vestiges  of  a  great  City. 

On  Thursday,  the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  we 
broke  up  and  left  the  ruins.  A  narrow  path  brought 
us  out  into  the  camino  real,  along  which  we  passed 
several  small  ranch os  of  sugar-cane.  At  eleven 
o'clock  we  reached  the  hacienda  of  Jalasac,  the 
appearance  of  which,  after  a  few  days'  burial  in  the 
woods,  was  most  attractive  and  inviting ;  and  here 
we  ventured  to  ask  for  water  for  our  horses.  The 
master  made  us  dismount,  sent  our  horses  to  an 
aguada,  and  had  some  oranges  picked  from  the  tree, 
sliced,  and  sprinkled  with  sugar,  for  ourselves.  He 
told  us  that  his  establishment  was  nothing  compared 
with  Senor  Trego's,  a  league  distant,  whom,  he  said, 
we,  of  course,  knew,  and  would  doubtless  stop  with 


CULTIVATION    OF  SUGAR. 


171 


a  few  days.  Not  remembering  ever  to  have  heard 
of  Senor  Trego  before,  v^^e  had  not  formed  unalter- 
ably any  such  intention,  but  it  w^as  manifest  that  all 
the  world,  and  we  in  particular,  ought  to  know 
Senor  Trego  ;  and  we  concluded  that  we  would  do 
him  the  honour  of  a  visit  as  we  passed  through. 
This  gentleman  had  forty  criados,  or  servants,  en- 
gaged in  making  sugar.  And,  on  entering  the  sugar 
region,  I  may  suggest  that  Yucatan  seems  to  present 
some  advantages  for  the  cultivation  of  this  necessa- 
ry ;  not  in  the  interior,  on  account  of  the  expense 
of  transportation,  but  along  the  coast,  the  whole 
line  from  Campeachy  to  Tobasco  being  good  for 
that  purpose,  and  within  reach  of  a  foreign  market. 
The  advantages  are,  first,  that  slave  labour  is  dis- 
pensed with,  and,  secondly  and  consequently,  no 
outlay  of  capital  is  necessary  for  the  purchase  of 
slaves.  In  Cuba  or  Louisiana  the  planter  must 
reckon  among  his  expenses  the  interest  upon  the 
capital  invested  in  the  purchase  of  slaves,  and  the 
cost  of  maintaining  them.  In  Yucatan  he  has  to 
incur  no  outlay  of  capital ;  Indian  labour  is  consid- 
ered by  those  who  have  examined  into  the  subject 
in  Cuba,  as  about  the  same  with  that  of  the  negroes; 
and  by  furnishing  them  constant  employment,  In- 
dians can  be  procured  in  any  numbers  at  a  real  per 
day,  which  is  less  than  the  interest  upon  the  cost  of 
a  negro,  and  less  than  the  expense  of  maintaining 
him  if  he  cost  nothing. 

Resuming  our  journey,  at  the  distance  of  a  league 


172 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


we  reached  another  rancho,  which  would  have  been 
creditable  in  any  country  for  its  neatness  and  ar- 
rangement. Our  road  ran  through  a  plaza,  or 
square,  with  large  seybo  trees  in  the  centre,  and 
neat  white  houses  on  all  the  sides  ;  and  before  the 
door  of  one  of  them  we  saw  a  horse  and  cart !  an 
evidence  of  civilization  which  we  had  not  seen 
till  that  time  in  the  country.  This  could  be  no 
other  than  Senor  Trego's.  We  stopped  in  the 
shade,  Senor  Trego  came  out  of  the  principal 
house,  told  the  servants  to  take  our  horses,  and  said 
he  had  been  expecting  us  several  days.  We  were  a 
little  surprised,  but,  as  we  were  very  uncertain  about 
our  chances  for  a  dinner,  we  said  nothing.  Entering 
the  house,  we  fell  into  fine  large  hammocks ;  and 
Senor  Trego  told  us  that  we  were  welcome  on  our 
own  account,  even  without  the  recommendation  of 
the  padre  Rodriguez  of  Xul.  This  gave  us  a  key  to 
the  mystery.  The  padre  Rodriguez  had  given  us  a 
letter  to  some  one  on  this  road,  which  we  had  ac- 
cidentally left  behind,  and  did  not  know  the  name 
of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed  ;  but  we 
now  remembered  that  the  cura,  in  speaking  of  him, 
had  said  deliberately,  as  if  feeling  the  full  import  of 
his  words,  that  he  was  rich  and  his  friend  ;  and  we  re- 
membered, too,  that  the  padre  had  frankly  read  to  us 
the  letter  before  giving  it,  in  which,  not  to  compro- 
mise himself  with  a  rich  friend,  he  had  recommend- 
ed us  as  worthy  of  Senor  Trego's  best  offices  upon 
our  paying  all  costs  and  expenses ;  but  we  had  rea- 


SENOR    TREGO'S    ESTABLISHMENT.  173 

son  to  believe  that  the  honest  padre  had  reversed 
the  custom  of  more  polished  lands,  and  that  his  pri- 
vate advices  had  given  a  liberal  interpretation  to  his 
cautious  open  recommendation.  At  all  events,  Se- 
nor  Trego  made  us  feel  at  once  that  there  was  to 
be  no  reserve  in  his  hospitality;  and  when  he  or- 
dered some  lemonade  to  be  brought  in  immediate- 
ly, we  did  not  hesitate  to  su^^est  the  addition  of 
two  fowls  boiled,  with  a  little  rice  thrown  in. 

While  these  were  in  preparation,  Senor  Trego 
conducted  us  round  to  look  at  his  establishment.  He 
had  large  sugar- works,  and  a  distillery  for  the  manu- 
facture of  habanera ;  and  in  the  yard  of  the  latter 
was  a  collection  of  enormous  black  hogs,  taking  a  si- 
esta in  a  great  pool  of  mud,  most  of  them  with  their 
snouts  barely  above  water,  a  sublime  spectacle  for  one 
interested  in  their  lard  and  tallow,  and  Senor  Trego 
told  us  that  in  the  evening  a  hundred  more,  quite 
equal  to  these,  would  come  in  to  scramble  for  their 
share  of  the  bed.  To  us  the  principal  objects  of  in- 
terest were  in  the  square,  being  a  well,  covered  over 
and  dry,  dug  nearly  to  the  depth  of  six  hundred 
feet  without  reaching  water,  and  the  great  seybo 
trees,  which  had  been  planted  by  Senor  Trego  him- 
self ;  the  oldest  being  of  but  twelve  years'  growth, 
and  more  extraordinary  for  its  rapid  luxuriance  than 
that  before  referred  to  as  existing  at  Ticul. 

At  four  o'clock  we  resumed  our  journey,  and  to- 
ward dark,  passing  some  miserable  huts  in  the  sub- 


174 


INCIDE'NTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


urbs,  we  reached  the  new  village  of  Iturbide,  stand- 
ing on  the  outposts  of  civilization,  the  great  point 
to  which  the  tide  of  emigration  was  roUing,  the  Chi- 
cago of  Yucatan. 

The  reader  may  not  consider  the  country  through 
which  we  have  been  travehing  as  over-burdened 
with  population,  but  in  certain  parts,  particularly  in 
the  district  of  Nohcacab,  the  people  did  so  consider 
it.  Crowded  and  oppressed  by  the  large  landed  pro- 
prietors, many  of  the  enterprising  yeomanry  of  this 
district  determined  to  seek  a  new  home  in  the  wil- 
derness. Bidding  fareweU  to  friends  and  relatives, 
after  a  journey  of  two  days  and  a  half  they  reached 
the  fertile  plains  of  Zibilnocac,  from  time  immemo- 
rial an  Indian  rancho.  Here  the  soil  belonged  to 
the  government ;  every  man  could  take  up  what  land 
he  pleased,  full  scope  was  offered  to  enterprise,  and 
an  opportunity  for  development  not  afforded  by  the 
over-peopled  region  of  Nohcacab.  Long  before 
reaching  it  we  had  heard  of  this  new  pueblo  and  its 
rapid  increase.  In  five  years,  from  twenty-five  in- 
habitants it  had  grown  into  a  population  of  fifteen 
or  sixteen  hundred ;  and,  familiar  as  we  were  with 
new  countries  and  the  magical  springing  up  of  cities 
in  the  wilderness,  we  looked  forward  to  it  as  a  new 
object  of  curiosity  and  interest. 

The  approach  was  by  a  long  street,  at  the  head 
of  which,  and  in  the  entrance  to  the  plaza,  we  saw 
a  gathering,  which  in  that  country  seemed  a  crowd, 


GAMBLING. 


175 


giving  an  indication  of  life  and  activity  not  usual  in 
the  older  villages ;  but  drawing  nearer,  we  noticed 
that  the  crowd  was  stationary,  and,  on  reaching  it, 
we  found  that,  according  to  an  afternoon  custom, 
all  the  principal  inhabitants  were  gathered  around  a 
card-table,  playing  monte;  rather  a  bad  symptom, 
but  these  hardy  pioneers  exhibited  one  good  trait  of 
character  in  their  close  attention  to  the  matter  in 
hand.  They  gave  us  a  passing  glance  and  contin- 
ued the  game.  Hanging  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
crowd,  however,  were  some  who,  not  having  the 
wherewithal  to  join  in  the  stakes,  bestowed  them- 
selves upon  us.  Among  them  was  one  who  claim- 
ed us  as  acquaintances,  and  said  that  he  had  been 
anxiously  looking  for  us.  He  had  kept  the  "  run" 
of  us  as  far  as  Bolonchen,  but  had  then  lost  us 
entirely,  and  was  relieved  when  we  accounted  for 
ourselves  by  mentioning  our  disappearance  in  the 
woods  of  Labphak.  This  gentleman  was  about  fifty, 
dressed  in  the  light  costume  of  the  place,  with  straw 
hat  and  sandals,  and  it  was  no  great  recommenda- 
tion to  him  when  he  told  us  that  he  had  made  our 
acqiiaintance  at  Nohcacab.  He  was  an  emigrant 
from  that  place,  and  on  a  visit  when  he  saw  us  there. 
He  clciimed  Dr.  Cabot  more  particularly  as  his  friend, 
and  the  Utter  remembered  receiving  from  him  some 
really  friendly  offices.  He  apologized  for  not  being 
able  to  show  us  many  attentions  at  that  place ;  it 
was  his  pueblo,  but  he  had  no  house  there;  this  was 
his  home,  and  here  he  could  make  amends.  He 


176 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


told  US  that  this  was  a  new  village,  and  had  but  few 
accommodations ;  the  casa  real  had  no  doors,  or  they 
•  were  not  yet  put  on.  He  undertook  to  provide  for 
us,  however,  and  conducted  us  to  a  house  adjoining 
that  of  his  brother,  and  belonging  to  the  latter,  on 
the  corner  of  the  plaza.  It  had  a  thatched  roof,  and 
perhaps,  by  this  time,  the  floor  is  cemented ;  but  then 
it  was  covered  with  the  lime  and  earth  for  making 
the  cement,  taking  a  good  impression  from  every  foot- 
step, and  throwing  up  some  dust.  It  was,  however, 
already  in  use  as  a  store-room  for  the  shop  on  the 
corner,  and  had  demijohns,  water-jars,  and  bundles 
of  tobacco  stowed  along  the  wall ;  the  middle  was 
vacant,  but  there  was  no  chair,  bench,  or  table  ;  but 
by  an  energetic  appeal  to  the  lookers-on  these  were 
obtained. 

Our  Nohcacab  friend  was  most  efficient  in  his  at- 
tentions, and,  in  fact,  constituted  himself  a  commit- 
tee to  receive  us ;  and  after  repeating  frequently 
that  at  Nohcacab,  though  it  was  his  village,  he  had 
no  house,  &c.,  he  came  to  the  point  by  inviting  us 
forthwith  to  his  house  to  take  chocolate. 

Tired  of  the  crowd,  and  wanting  to  be  alone,  we 
declined,  and  unluckily  assigned  as  a  reason  tliat  we 
had  ordered  chocolate  to  be  prepared.  He  went 
away  with  the  rest,  but  very  soon  returned,  and  said 
that  we  had  given  him  a  bofetada,  or  rebaff,  and  had 
cheapened  him  in  the  estimation  of  his  people.  As 
he  seemed  really  hurt,  we  directed  our  preparations 


AN    OFFICIOUS    ACQUAINTANCE.  177 

to  be  discontinued,  and  went  with  him  to  his  house, 
where  we  had  a  cup  of  very  poor  chocolate,  which 
he  followed  up  by  telling  us  that  we  must  eat  at  his 
house  during  the  whole  of  our  stay  in  the  village, 
and  that  we  must  not  spend  a  cent  for  la  comida,  or 
food.  Our  daily  expenses  at  Nohcacab,  he  said, 
were  enormous ;  and  when  we  left  he  escorted  us 
home,  carrying  with  him  a  little  earthen  vessel  con- 
taining castor  oil  with  a  wick  in  it,  and  said  we  must 
not  spend  any  money  for  candles,  and  again  came 
to  the  point  by  insisting  upon  our  promising  to  dine 
at  his  house  the  next  day. 

In  the  mean  time  Albino  had  inquired  him  out,  and 
we  found  that  we  had  secured  a  valuable  acquaint- 
ance. Don  Juan  was  one  of  the  oldest  settlers, 
and  one  of  the  most  influential  inhabitants.  He 
was  not  then  in  public  office,  but  he  was  highly  con- 
nected. One  of  his  brothers  was  first  alcalde,  and 
another  keeper  of  the  gambling-table. 

We  considered  his  attentions  for  the  evening  at 
an  end,  but  in  a  short  time  he  entered  abruptly,  and 
with  a  crowd  at  his  heels.  This  time  he  was  really 
welcome,  for  he  called  us  out  to  look  at  a  lunar  rain- 
bow, which  the  people,  looking  at  it  in  connexion 
with  our  visit  and  its  strange  objects,  considered 
rather  ominous,  and  Don  Juan  himself  was  not  en- 
tirely at  ease ;  but  it  did  not  disturb  the  gentlemen 
around  the  gambling-table,  who  had,  in  the  mean 
time,  to  avoid  the  night  air,  moved  under  the  shed 

Vol.  II.— Z 


178 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


of  the  proprietor,  Don  Juan's  brother  and  our  land- 
lord. 

The  next  morning  a  short  time  enabled  us  to  see 
all  the  objects  of  interest  in  the  new  village  of 
Iturbide.  Five  years  before  the  plough  had  run 
over  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  plaza,  or, 
more  literally,  as  the  plough  is  not  known  in  Yuca- 
tan, the  plaza  is  on  the  ground  formerly  occupied  by 
an  old  milperia,  or  cornfield.  In  those  ancient  days 
it  was  probably  enclosed  by  a  bush  fence ;  now,  at 
one  corner  rises  a  thatched  house,  with  an  arbour 
before  it,  and  a  table  under  the  arbour,  at  which,  per- 
haps, at  this  moment  the  principal  inhabitants  are 
playing  monte.  Opposite,  on  the  other  corner, 
stood,  and  still  stands  if  it  has  not  fallen  down,  a 
casa  de  paja  (thatched  house)  from  which  the 
thatching  had  been  blown  away,  and  in  which 
were  the  undisposed-of  remains  of  an  ox  for  sale. 
Along  the  sides  were  whitewashed  huts,  and  on  one 
corner  a  large,  neat  house,  belonging  to  our  friend 
Sefior  Trego ;  then  a  small  edifice  with  a  cross  in 
the  roof,  marking  it  as  a  church ;  and,  finally,  an 
open  casa  publica,  very  aptly  so  called,  as  it  had  no 
doors.  Such  are  the  edifices  which  in  five  years 
have  sprung  up  in  the  new  village  of  Iturbide  ;  and 
attached  to  each  house  was  a  muddy  yard,  where 
large  black  pigs  were  wallowing  in  the  mire,  the 
special  objects  of  their  owner's  care,  soon  to  become 
large  black  hogs,  and  to  bring  ten  or  twelve  dollars 
a  piece  in  the  Campeachy  market.    But,  interesting 


AN    ANCIENT  WELL. 


179 


as  it  is  to  watch  the  march  of  improvement,  it  was 
not  for  these  we  had  come  to  Itm'bide.  Within  the 
plaza  were  memorials  of  older  and  better  times,  in- 
dications of  a  more  ingenious  people  than  the  civ- 
ihzed  whites  by  whom  it  is  now  occupied.  At  one 
end  was  a  mound  of  ruins,  which  had  once  support- 
ed an  ancient  building ;  and  in  the  centre  was  an 
ancient  well,  unchanged  from  the  time  of  its  con- 
struction, and  then,  as  for  an  unknown  length  of 
time  before,  supplying  water  to  the  inhabitants. 
There  could  be  no  question  about  the  antiquity  of 
this  well ;  the  people  all  said  that  it  was  a  work  of 
the  antiguos,  and  paid  respect  to  it  and  valued  it 
highly  on  that  account,  for  it  had  saved  them  the 
labour  and  expense  of  digging  a  new  one  for  them- 
selves. 

It  was  about  a  yard  and  a  quarter  wide  at  the 
mouth,  and  seven  or  eight  yards  in  depth,  circular, 
and  constructed  of  stones  laid  without  plaster  or  ce- 
ment of  any  kind.  The  stones  were  all  firmly  in 
their  places,  and  had  a  pohsh  which,  with  creases 
made  by  ropes  in  the  platform  at  the  top,  indicated 
the  great  length  of  time  that  water  had  been  drawn 
from  it. 

Besides  these  memorials,  from  a  street  communi- 
cating with  the  plaza  we  saw  a  range  of  great 
mounds,  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Zibilnocac, 
which  had  brought  us  to  Iturbide. 

Don  Juan  was  ready  to  accompany  us  to  the 
ruins,  and  while  he  was  waiting  at  our  door,  one 


180 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEi.. 


person  and  another  came  along  and  joined  him,  un- 
til we  had  an  assemblage  of  all  the  respectable  cit- 
izens, apparently  just  risen  from  the  gambling-table, 
of  wan  and  miserable  aspect,  and,  though  they  had 
ponchas  wrapped  about  them,  shivering  with  cold. 

On  the  w^ay  to  the  ruins  we  passed  another  an- 
cient well,  of  the  same  construction  with  that  in  the 
plaza,  but  filled  up  with  rubbish,  and  useless.  The 
Indians  called  it  Stu-kum,  from  a  subject  famiUar 
to  them,  and  presenting  not  a  bad  idea  of  a  useless 
well ;  the  w^ord  meaning  a  calabash  with  the  seeds 
dried  up.  A  short  walk  brought  us  into  an  open 
country,  and  among  the  towering  ruins  of  another 
ancient  city.  The  field  was  in  many  places  clear 
of  trees,  and  covered  only  with  plantations  of  to- 
bacco, and  studding  it  all  over  were  lofty  ranges  and 
mounds,  enshrouded  in  woods,  through  which  white 
masses  of  stone  were  glimmering,  and  rising  in  such 
quick  succession,  and  so  many  at  once,  that  Mr. 
Gather  wood,  in  no  good  condition  for  work,  said, 
almost  despondingly,  that  the  labours  of  Uxmal  were 
to  begin  again. 

Among  them  was  one  long  edifice,  having  at  each 
end  what  seemed  a  tower ;  and,  attended  by  our 
numerous  escort,  we  approached  it  first.  It  was 
difficult  to  imagine  wliat  could  have  procured  us 
the  honour  of  their  company.  They  evidently 
took  no  interest  in  the  ruins,  could  give  us  no  infor- 
mation about  them,  nor  even  knew  the  paths  that 
led  to  them ;  and  we  could  not  flatter  ourselves  that 


RUINS    OF    ZIBILNOCAC.  181 

it  was  for  the  pleasure  of  our  society.  The  build- 
ing before  us  was  more  ruined  than  it  seemed  from 
a  distance,  but  in  some  respects  it  differed  from  all 
the  others  we  had  seen.  It  required  much  clearing ; 
and  when  this  was  signified  to  our  attendants,  we 
found  that  among  them  all  there  was  not  a  single 
machete.  Generally,  on  these  occasions,  there  were 
some  who  were  ready  to  work,  and  even  on  the 
look-out  for  a  job ;  but  among  these  thriving  people 
there  was  not  one  who  cared  to  labour  in  any  ca- 
pacity but  that  of  a  looker-on.  A  few,  however, 
were  picked  out  as  by  general  consent  the  proper 
persons  to  work,  upon  whom  all  the  rest  fell  and 
drove  them  to  the  village  for  their  machetes.  At 
the  same  time,  many  of  those  who  remained  took 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  order  their  break- 
fast sent  out,  and  all  sat  down  to  wait.  Mr.  Cath- 
erwood,  already  unwell,  worried  by  their  chattering, 
lay  down  in  his  poncha  on  the  ground,  and  finally 
became  so  ill  that  he  returned  to  the  house.  In  the 
mean  time  I  went  to  the  foot  of  the  building,  where, 
after  loitering  more  than  an  hour,  I  heard  a  move- 
ment overhead,  and  saw  a  little  boy  of  about  thir- 
teen cutting  among  the  branches  of  a  tree.  Half  a 
dozen  men  placed  themselves  within  his  hearing, 
and  gave  him  directions  to  such  an  extent  that  I 
was  obliged  to  tell  them  I  was  competent  to  direct 
one  such  lad  myself  In  a  little  while  another 
lad  of  about  fifteen  joined  him,  and  for  some  time 
these  boys  were  the  only  persons  at  work,  while 

16 


182 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


lazy  beggars  were  crouching  on  every  projecting 
stone,  industriously  engaged  in  looking  at  them. 
Finally,  one  man  came  along  with  his  machete,  and 
then  others,  until  five  were  at  work.  They  were 
occupied  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  but  to  the 
last  there  were  some  trees,  obstructing  the  view  of 
particular  parts,  which  I  could  not  get  cut  down. 
All  this  time  the  spectators  remained  looking  on  as 
if  in  expectation  of  some  grand  finale  ;  toward  the 
last  they  began  to  show  symptoms  of  anxiety,  and 
during  this  time,  through  the  unintentional  instru- 
mentality of  Don  Juan,  I  had  made  a  discovery. 
The  fame  of  the  Daguerreotype,  or  la  machina,  had 
reached  their  ears,  greatly  exaggerated.  They,  of 
course,  knew  but  little  about  it,  but  had  come  out 
with  the  expectation  of  seeing  its  miraculous  pow- 
ers exercised.  If  the  reader  be  at  all  mahcious,  he 
will  sympathize  in  my  satisfaction,  when  all  was 
cleared  and  ready  to  be  drawn,  in  paying  the  men 
and  walking  back  to  the  village,  leaving  them  sitting 
on  the  stones. 

The  untoward  circumstances  of  the  morning 
threw  Don  Juan  into  a  somewhat  anxious  state  ;  he 
had  incurred  the  expense  of  preparations,  and  was  un- 
certain whether  we  intended  to  do  him  the  honour 
of  dining  with  him ;  apprehensive  of  another  bofe- 
tada,  he  was  afraid  to  mention  the  subject,  but  on 
reaching  his  house  he  sent  to  give  notice  that  din- 
ner was  ready,  and  to  inquire  when  he  should  send 
it  to  us.    To  make  amends,  and  again  conciliate, 


A    PROSPEROUS    EMIGRANT.  183 

we  answered  that  we  would  dine  at  his  house, 
which  he  acknowledged  through  Albino  as  a  much 
higher  honour. 

His  house  was  on  the  principal  street,  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  plaza,  and  one  of  the  first  erected, 
and  the  best  in  the  place.  He  had  been  induced  to 
settle  in  Iturbide  on  account  of  the  facilities  and  priv- 
ileges offered  by  the  government,  and  the  privilege 
which  he  seemed  to  value  most  was  that  of  selling 
out.  As  he  told  us  himself,  when  he  came  he  was 
not  worth  a  medio,  and  he  seemed  really  to  have 
held  his  own  remarkably  well.  But  appearances 
were  deceitful,  for  he  was  a  man  of  property.  His 
house,  including  doors  and  a  partition  at  one  end, 
had  cost  him  thirty  dollars.  The  doors  and  parti- 
tion his  neighbours  regarded  as  a  piece  of  preten- 
sion, and  he  himself  supposed  that  these  might  have 
been  dispensed  with,  but  he  had  no  children,  and 
did  not  mind  the  expense.  At  one  end  of  the  room 
was  a  rude  frame,  supporting  the  image  of  a  tu- 
telary saint.  Near  it  was  a  stick  thrust  into  the 
mud  floor,  with  three  prongs  at  the  upper  end,  in 
which  rested  an  earthen  vessel  containing  castor 
oil,  with  a  wick  in  it,  to  light  up  the  mansion  at 
night ;  a  sort  of  bar  with  bottles  containing  agua 
ardiente  flavoured  with  anise,  for  retailing  to  the 
Indians,  which,  with  a  small  table  and  three  ham- 
mocks, constituted  the  furniture  of  Don  Juan's  house. 
These  last  served  for  chairs,  but  as  he  had  never  an- 
ticipated the  extraordinary  event  of  dining  three  per- 


184  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

sons,  they  could  not  be  brought  into  right  juxtaposi- 
tion to  the  table.    Consequently,  we  sent  for  our  two 
borrowed  chairs,  and,  with  the  table  in  front  of  one 
of  the  hammocks,  we  were  all  seated  except  our  host, 
who  proposed  to  wait  upon  us.    There  was  one 
aristocratic  arrangement  in  Don  Juan's  household. 
His  kitchen  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  a 
rickety  old  frame  of  poles,  and  Don  Juan,  after  run- 
ning across  several  times,  bare-headed,  to  watch  the 
progress  of  the  dinner,  returned  and  threw  himself 
into  a  hammock  a  little  within  the  doorway,  crying 
out  across  the  street,  "  Trae  la  comida,  muchacha." 
"  Bring  the  dinner,  girl."    The  first  course  included 
a  bowl  of  soup,  a  plate  of  rice,  and  three  spoons ; 
rather  an  alarming  intimation,  but  at  the  same  time 
rather  grand,  and  much  better  than  the  alternative 
that  sometimes  happened,  of  three  plates  and  one 
spoon,  or  none  at  all ;  and  all  apprehension  was  dis- 
sipated by  the  reappearance  of  the  girl  with  another 
bowl  and  plate.    Don  Juan  himself  followed  with 
each  hand  full,  and  we  had  a  bowl,  plate,  and  spoon 
apiece.    The  contents  disposed  of,  another  dish  was 
served,  which,  by  counting  the  wings  and  legs,  we 
ascertained  to  be  the  substance  of  two  fowls ;  and 
while  attending  to  them,  we  were  engaged  in  the 
friendly  office,  which  guests  but  rarely  do  for  their 
host,  of  calculating  the  expense  he  was  incurring. 
We  had  too  good  an  opinion  of  Don  Juan's  shrewd- 
ness to  believe  that  he  was  making  this  lavish  ex- 
penditure in  mere  wantonness,  and  wondered  what 


A    DELICATE  CASE. 


185 


he  could  expect  to  get  out  of  us  in  return.  We  had 
hardly  begun  to  speculate  upon  this  when,  as  if 
knowing  what  was  passing  in  our  minds,  he  called 
in  his  wife,  a  respectable-looking  elderly  person,  and 
disclosed  another  design  upon  the  Daguerreotype. 
At  Nohcacab  he  had  heard  of  portraits  being  taken, 
and  wanted  one  of  his  wife,  and  he  was  somewhat 
disappointed,  and,  perhaps,  went  over  the  calculation 
we  had  just  made,  when  he  learned  that,  as  there 
were  no  subjects  on  which  it  could  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage, we  had  determined  not  to  open  th^  appa- 
ratus. 

But  he  did  not  let  us  off  yet.  His  next  attempt 
was  upon  Dr.  Cabot,  and  this,  too,  was  in  favour  of 
his  old  wife.  Taking  her  by  the  hand,  he  led  her 
before  the  doctor,  and,  with  an  earnestness  that  gave 
dignity  to  his  scanty  wearing  apparel,  and  ought  to 
have  found  its  way  to  the  depths  of  medical  science, 
explained  the  nature  of  her  maladies.  It  was  really 
a  deUcate  case,  and  made  more  so  by  the  length  of 
time  that  had  elapsed  since  marriage.  No  such 
case  had  ever  occurred  in  my  practice,  and  even 
Doctor  Cabot  was  at  a  loss. 

While  the  matter  was  under  discussion  several 
men  came  in.  No  doubt  they  had  all  received  a 
hint  to  drop  in  at  that  hour.  One  had  an  asthma, 
another  a  swelling,  and  there  were  so  many  of  Don 
Juan's  friends  afflicted  that  we  made  an  abrupt  re- 
treat. 

Vol.  II.— a  a 


186 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


In  the  evening  Don  Juan's  brother,  the  alcalde, 
called  upon  Dr.  Cabot  for  advice  for  a  sick  child^ 
which  the  course  he  w^as  pursuing  would  soon  have 
put  beyond  the  reach  of  medicine.  Doctor  Cabot 
made  him  desist,  and  in  the  morning  it  was  so  much 
better  that  all  the  people  conceived  a  good  opinion 
of  his  abilities,  and  determined  to  patronise  him  in 
earnest. 

The  condition  of  the  whole  country  in  regard  to 
medical  aid  is  deplorable.  Except  at  Campeachy 
and  J^erida  there  are  no  regular  physicians,  nor 
even  apothecaries'  shops.  In  the  villages  where 
there  are  curas,  the  whole  duty  of  attending  the  sick 
devolves  upon  them.  They  have,  of  course,  no  reg- 
ular medical  education,  but  practise  upon  some  old 
treatise  or  manuscript  recipes,  and  even  in  their 
small  practice  they  are  trammelled  by  want  of  med- 
icines. But  in  villages  where  there  are  no  curas, 
there  is  no  one  to  prescribe  for  the  sick.  The  rich 
go  to  Campeachy  or  Merida,  and  put  themselves  un- 
der the  hands  of  a  physician ;  the  poor  linger  and 
die,  the  victims  of  ignorance  and  empiricism. 

Dr.  Cabot's  fame  as  a  curer  of  biscos  had  spread 
throughout  the  country,  and  whenever  we  reached 
a  village  there  was  a  curiosity,  which  threw  Mr. 
Catherwood  and  me  into  the  shade,  to  see  the 
medico.  Frequently  we  overheard  the  people  say, 
"  Tan  joven,"  "  So  young :"  "  Es  muchacho,"  "  He 
is  a  boy ;"  for  they  associated  the  idea  of  age  with 
that  of  a  great  medico.    He  was  often  consulted  upon 


MEDICAL  PRACTICE. 


187 


cases  for  which  he  could  not  prescribe  with  any 
satisfaction.  Treatment  which  might  be  proper  at 
the  moment  might  not  answer  a  few  days  afterward, 
and  the  greatest  annoyance  was  that,  if  our  travel- 
Hng  chest  could  not  furnish  the  medicine,  the  pre- 
scription had  to  wait  an  opportunity  of  being  sent 
to  Merida  ;  but  when  the  medicine  arrived,  the  case 
might  have  altered  so  much  that  this  medicine  had 
become  altogether  improper  for  it.  It  is  gratifying 
to  know  that,  in  general,  his  practice  gave  satisfac- 
tion, yet,  at  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
there  were  complaints.  The  terms  could  not  well 
have  been  made  easier,  but  the  ground  of  dissatisfac- 
tion was,  that  he  did  not  always  furnish  medicine  as 
well  as  advice.  I  do  not  mention  this  reproachfully, 
however ;  throughout  the  country  he  had  a  fair 
share  of  patronage,  and  the  run  reached  its  climax 
at  Iturbide.  Unluckily,  the  day  on  which  the  in- 
habitants resolved  to  take  him  up  in  earnest  it  rain- 
ed, and  we  were  kept  nearly  all  the  time  within 
doors,  and  there  were  so  many  applications  from 
men,  women,  and  children,  many  of  whom  came 
with  Don  Juan's  recommendation,  that  the  doctor 
was  seriously  annoyed.  Every  latent  disease  was 
brought  out,  and  he  could  even  have  found  business 
in  prescribing  for  cases  that  might  possibly  occur,  as 
well  as  for  those  already  existing. 

The  next  morning  Mr.  Catherwood  made  an  ef- 
fort to  visit  the  ruins.  Our  numerous  escort  of  the 
former  occasion  were  all  missing,  and,  except  an  In- 


188 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL. 


dian  who  had  a  tobacco  patch  in  the  neighbourhood, 
we  were  enth-ely  alone.  This  Indian  held  an  um- 
brella over  Mr.  Catherwood's  head  to  protect  him 
from  the  sun,  and,  while  making  the  drawing,  sev- 
eral times  he  was  obliged  by  weakness  to  he  down 
and  rest.  I  was  disheartened  by  the  spectacle.  Al- 
though, considering  the  extent  of  illness  in  our  par- 
ty, we  had  in  reality  not  lost  much  time,  we  had 
been  so  much  embarrassed,  and  it  was  so  disagree- 
able to  be  moving  along  with  this  constant  liability 
to  fever  and  ague,  that  here  I  felt  very  much  dis- 
posed  to  break  up  the  expedition  and  go  home,  but 
Mr.  Gather  wood  persisted. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  this 
building.  It  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet  in 
front  and  twenty  feet  seven  inches  in  depth.  It  dif- 
fered in  form  from  any  we  had  seen,  and  had  square 
structures  rising  in  the  centre  and  at  each  end,  as 
seen  in  ruins  in  the  engraving ;  these  were  called 
towers,  and  at  a  distance  had  that  appearance. 
The  facades  of  the  towers  were  all  ornamented  with 
sculptured  stone.  Several  of  the  apartments  had 
tobacco  leaves  spread  out  in  them  to  dry.  In  the 
centre,  one  apartment  was  encumbered  with  rubbish, 
cutting  off  the  light  from  the  door,  but  in  the  obscu- 
rity we  saw  on  one  of  the  stones,  along  the  layer  in 
the  arch,  the  dim  outline  of  a  painting  like  that  at 
Kewick ;  in  the  adjoining  apartment  were  the  re- 
mains of  paintings,  the  most  interesting,  except  those 
near  the  village  of  Xul,  that  we  had  met  with  in  the 


FIRST  ACCOUNTS  OF  THESE  RUINS.  189 

country,  and,  like  those,  in  position  and  general 
effect  reminding  me  of  processions  in  Egyptian 
tombs.  The  colom*  of  the  flesh  was  red,  as  was  al- 
ways the  case  with  the  Egyptians  in  representing 
their  own  people.  Unfortunately,  they  were  too 
much  mutilated  to  be  drawn,  and  seemed  surviving 
the  general  wreck  only  to  show  that  these  aboriginal 
builders  had  possessed  more  skill  in  the  least  endu- 
ring branch  of  the  graphic  art. 

The  first  accounts  we  heard  of  these  ruins  dale 
back  to  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  Nohpat.  Among 
the  Indians  there  at  work  was  one  who,  while  we 
were  lunching,  sitting  apart  under  a  tree,  mentioned 
these  ruins  in  exaggerated  terms,  particularly  a  row 
of  painted  soldiers,  as  he  called  them,  which,  from  his 
imperfect  description,  I  supposed  might  bear  some 
resemblance  to  the  stuccoed  figures  on  the  fronts  of 
the  buildings  at  Palenque;  but,  on  pushing  my  in- 
quiries, he  said  these  figures  carried  muskets,  and 
was  so  pertinacious  on  this  point  that  I  concluded 
he  was  either  talking  entirely  at  random,  or  of  the 
remains  of  old  Spanish  structures.  I  noted  the 
place  in  my  memorandum-book,  and  having  had  it 
for  a  long  time  upon  our  minds,  and  received  more 
different  accounts  of  it  than  of  any  other,  none 
proved  more  unlike  what  we  expected  to  find.  We 
looked  for  few  remains,  but  these  distinguished  for 
their  beauty  and  ornament,  and  high  state  of  pres- 
ervation, instead  of  which  we  found  an  immense 
field,  grand,  imposing,  and  interesting  from  its  vast- 


190 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


ness,  but  all  so  mined  that,  with  the  exception  of 
this  one  building,  httle  of  the  detail  could  be  discov- 
ered. 

Back  of  this  building,  or,  rather,  on  the  other 
front,  was  a  thriving  tobacco  patch,  the  only  thri- 
ving thing  we  saw  at  Iturbide  ;  and  on  the  border 
another  ancient  well,  now,  as  in  ages  past,  furnish- 
ing water,  and  from  which  the  Indian  attending  the 
tobacco  patch  gave  us  to  drink.  Beyond  were  tow- 
ering mounds  and  vestiges,  indicating  the  existence 
of  a  greater  city  than  any  we  had  yet  encountered. 
In  wandering  among  them  Dr.  Cabot  and  myself 
counted  thirty-three,  all  of  which  had  once  held 
buildings  aloft.  The  field  was  so  open  that  tkey 
were  all  comparatively  easy  of  access,  but  the 
mounds  themselves  were  overgrown.  I  clambered 
up  them  till  the  work  became  tiresome  and  unprof- 
itable ;  they  were  all,  as  the  Indians  said,  puras 
piedras,  pure  stones  ;  no  buildings  were  left ;  all  had 
fallen ;  and  though,  perhaps,  more  than  at  any 
other  place,  happy  that  it  was  our  fortune  to  wan- 
der among  these  crumbling  memorials  of  a  once 
powerful  and  mysterious  people,  we  almost  mourned 
that  our  lot  had  not  been  cast  a  century  sooner, 
when,  as  we  beheved,  all  these  edifices  were  entire. 


LAKE    OF  PETEN. 


191 


CHAPTER  XL 

End  of  Journey  in  this  Direction. — Lake  of  Peten. — Probable  Ex- 
istence of  Ruins  in  the  Wilderness. — Islands  in  the  Lake  of  Pe- 
ten.— Peten  Grande. — Mission  of  two  Monks. — Great  Idol  of  the 
Figure  of  a  Horse. — Broken  by  the  Monks,  who  in  Consequence, 
are  obliged  to  leave  the  Island. — Second  Mission  of  the  Monks. 
— Sent  away  by  the  Indians. — Expedition  of  Don  Martin  Ursua. 
— Arrival  at  the  Island. — Attacked  by  the  Indians,  who  are  de- 
feated.— Don  Martin  takes  Possession  of  Itza. — Temples  and 
Idols  of  the  Indians. — Destroyed  by  the  Spaniards. — Flight  of 
the  Indians  into  the  Wilderness. — Preparations. — Illness  of  Mr. 
Catherwood. — Effects  of  Gambling. — From  the  Church  to  the 
Gaming-table. — How  People  Live  at  Iturbide. — Departure. — 
Rancho  of  Noyaxche. 

Our  journey  in  this  direction  is  now  ended.  We 
were  on  the  frontier  of  the  inhabited  part  of  Yuca- 
tan, and  within  a  few  leagues  of  the  last  village. 
Beyond  was  a  wilderness,  stretching  off  to  the  Lake 
of  Peten,  and  that  region  of  Lacandones,  or  unbap- 
tized  Indians,  in  which,  according  to  the  suggestion 
made  in  my  previous  volumes,  lay  that  mysterious 
city  never  reached  by  a  white  man,  but  still  occu- 
pied by  Indians  precisely  in  the  same  state  as  before 
the  discovery  of  America.  During  my  sojourn  in  Yu- 
catan, my  account  of  this  city  was  pubhshed  in  one 
of  the  Merida  papers,  and  among  intelhgent  persons 
there  was  a  universal  behef  that  beyond  the  Lake 
of  Peten  there  was  a  region  of  unconverted  Indians 


192 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


of  whom  nothing  was  known.  We  had  been  mo- 
ving on  in  the  track  of  ruined  cities.  A  venerable 
ecclesiastic  in  Merida  had  furnished  me  with  an 
itinerary  of  the  journey  through  the  wilderness  to 
the  Lake  of  Peten,  and  I  had  some  hope  of  being 
led  on  from  place  to  place  until  we  should  reach  a 
point  which  might  unravel  all  mystery,  and  establish 
a  connecting  link  between  the  past  and  present ; 
but  this  hope  was  accompanied  by  a  fear,  and,  per- 
haps fortunately  for  us,  we  did  not  hear  of  ruins  be- 
yond. If  we  had,  we  should  not  have  attempted  to 
go  in  search  of  them,  and  it  would  have  been  pain- 
ful to  turn  back.  I  am  far  from  believing,  however, 
that  because  we  did  not  hear  of  them  none  exist. 
On  the  contrary,  it  may  well  be  that  wrecks  of 
cities  lie  buried  but  a  few  leagues  farther  on,  the  ex- 
istence of  which  is  entirely  unknown  at  the  village 
of  Iturbide,  for  at  that  place  there  was  not  a  single 
individual  who  had  ever  heard  of  the  ruins  at  Lab- 
phak,  which  we  had  visited  just  before,  until  they 
heard  of  them  from  us. 

As  yet,  however,  our  face  is  still  set  toward  the 
Lake  of  Peten.  In  this  lake  are  numerous  islands, 
one  of  which  is  called  Peten  Grande,  Peten  itself 
being  a  Maya  word,  signifying  an  island ;  and  be- 
fore turning  back  I  wish  to  present  this  island  for 
one  moment  to  the  reader.  It  now  belongs  to  the 
government  of  Guatimala,  and  is  under  the  ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  Yucatan.  For- 
merly it  was  the  principal  place  of  the  province  of 


MISSION    OF    TWO   MONKS.  193 

Itza,  which  province,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after  the  subjugation  of  Yucatan,  maintained  its  fierce 
and  native  independence.    In  the  year  1608,  sixty- 
six  years  after  the  conquest,  two  Franciscan  monks, 
alone,  without  arms,  and  in  the  spirit  of  peace,  set 
out  to  conquer  this  province  by  converting  the  na- 
tives to  Christianity.     The  hmits  of  these  pages 
will  not  permit  me  to  accompany  them  in  their 
toilsome  and  dangerous  journey,  but,  according  to 
the  account  of  one  of  them  as  given  by  Cogolludo, 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night  they  landed  on  the  island, 
were  provided  with  a  house  by  the  king,  and  the 
next  day  preached  to  the  Indians ;  but  the  latter 
told  them  that  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for  them 
to  become  Christians,  and  advised  the  monks  to  go 
away  and  return  at  some  other  day.  Neverthe- 
less, they  carried  them  round  to  see  the  town,  and 
in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  temples  they  saw  a  great 
idol  of  the  figure  of  a  horse,  made  of  lime  and  stone^ 
seated  on  the  ground  on  his  haunches,  with  his  hind 
legs  bent,  and  raised  on  his  fore  feet,  being  intended 
as  an  image  of  the  horse  which  Cortez  left  at  that 
place  on  his  great  journey  from  Mexico  to  Honduras. 
On  that  occasion  the  Indians  had  seen  the  Spaniards 
fire  their  muskets  from  the  backs  of  the  horses,  and 
supposing  that  the  fire  and  noise  were  caused  by 
the  animals,  they  called  this  image  Tzimin  Chac, 
and  adored  it  as  the  god  of  thunder  and  hghtning. 
As  the  monks  saw  it,  one  of  them,  says  the  author 
of  the  account,  seemed  as  if  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
Vol.  IL— B  b  17 


194 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


had  descended  upon  him ;  and,  carried  away  by  zeal- 
ous fervour,  seized  the  foot  of  the  horse  with  his 
hand,  mounted  upon  the  statue,  and  broke  it  in 
pieces.  The  Indians  immediately  cried  out  to  kill 
them;  but  the  king  saved  them,  though  they  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  island.  # 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  1619,  the  same  two 
monks,  undaunted  by  their  previous  \\\  success,  again 
appeared  on  the  island;  but  the  people  rose  up  against 
them.  One  of  the  padres  remonstrated  an  Indian 
seized  him  by  the  hair,  twisted  his  neck,  and  hurled 
him  to  the  ground,  tearing  out  his  hair  by  the  roots, 
and  throwing  it  away.  He  was  picked  up  senseless, 
and,  with  his  companion  and  the  accompanying  In- 
dians, put  on  board  a  bad  canoe,  without  anything 
to  eat,  and  again  sent  away.  With  all  their  fanati- 
cism and  occasional  cruelty,  there  is  something  soul- 
stirring  in  the  devotion  of  these  early  monks  to  the 
business  of  converting  the  souls  of  the  Indians. 

In  the  year  1695,  Don  Martin  Ursua  obtained  the 
government  of  Yucatan,  and,  in  pursuance  of  a  pro- 
posal previously  submitted  by  him  to  the  king,  and 
approved  by  the  council  of  the  Indies,  undertook 
the  great  work  of  opening  a  road  across  the  whole 
continent  from  Campeachy  to  Guatimala.  The 
opening  of  this  road  led  to  the  conquest  of  Itza, 
and  we  have  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  this  con- 
quest, written  by  the  lieenciado,  or  lawyer,  Don  Juan 
Villagutierres,  a  native  of  Yucatan.  It  is  entitled, 
"A  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Itza,  reduction  and 


EXPEDITION  OF   DON  MARTIN  DE  URSUA.195 


progress  of  that  of  Lacandon,  and  other  barbarous 
Nations  of  Gentile  Indians  in  the  Mediacion  of  Yu- 
catan and  Guatimala."  It  was  pubhshed  at  Madrid 
in  the  year  1701,  and,  what  gives  it  great  value, 
witliin  four  years  after  the  events  referred  to  took 
place. 

The  work  of  opening  the  road  was  begun  in  1695. 
In  prosecuting  it,  the  Spaniards  encountered  vestiges 
of  ancient  buildings  raised  on  terraces,  deserted  and 
overgrown,  and  apparently  very  ancient.  These,  it 
is  true,  may  have  been  abandoned  long  before  the 
conquest ;  but,  as  the  Spaniards  had  now  been  in 
the  country  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  it  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  the  terror  of  their  name 
may  have  made  desolate  many  places  which  their 
arms  never  reached. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  January,  1697,  Don  Mar-- 
tin  de  Ursua  set  out  from  Campeachy  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  in  person,  with  a  vicar-gen- 
eral and  assistant,  already  nominated  by  the  bishop, 
for  the  province  of  Itza.  On  the  last  day  of  Febru- 
ary he  had  timber  cut  on  the  borders  of  Peten  for 
the  construction  of  vessels  which  should  convey 
them  to  the  island.  He  sent  before  a  proclamation, 
giving  notice  that  the  time  had  come  when  they 
should  have  one  cup  and  one  plate  with  the  Span- 
iards. "  If  not,'*  says  the  proclamation,  "  I  will  do 
what  the  king  commands  me,  but  which  it  is  not 
necessary  now  to  express."  The  thirteenth  of  March 
was  appointed  for  the  day  of  embarcation.  Some 


196 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


of  the  Spaniards,  knowing  the  immense  number  of 
Indians  on  the  island,  and  the  difficuky  of  conquer- 
ing it,  represented  to  the  general  the  rashness  of  his 
undertaking ;  but,  says  the  historian,  carried  away 
by  his  zeal,  faith,  and  courage,  he  answered  that, 
having  in  view  the  service  of  God  and  the  king,  and 
the  drawing  of  miserable  souls  from  the  darkness  of 
heathenism,  under  the  favour  and  protection  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  whose  image  he  carried  on  the  royal 
standard,  and  engraven  on  his  heart,  he  alone  was 
sufficient  for  this  conquest,  even  if  it  w^ere  much 
more  difficult. 

He  embarked  with  one  hundred  and  eight  soldiers, 
leaving  one  hundred  and  twenty,  with  auxiliary  In- 
dians, and  two  pieces  of  artillery,  as  a  garrison  for 
the  camp.  The  vicar  blessed  the  vessel,  and  as  the 
•sun  rose  she  got  under  way  for  the  island,  two 
leagues  distant.  The  vicar  offered  up  a  prayer,  and 
the  Spaniards  cried  "  Viva  la  ley  de  Dios !"  Half 
way  across  he  encountered  fleets  of  canoes  filled 
with  warlike  Indians  ;  but  taking  no  notice  of  them, 
and  moving  on  toward  the  island,  the  Spaniards 
saw  assembled  immense  numbers,  prepared  for  war ; 
Indians  crowded  the  tops  of  the  small  islands  around ; 
the  canoes  followed  them  on  the  lake,  and  enclosed 
them  in  a  half  moon  between  themselves  and  the 
shore.  As  soon  as  within  reach,  the  Indians,  by  land 
and  water,  poured  upon  them  a  shower  of  arrows. 
The  general,  Don  Martin  Ursua,  cried  out  in  a  loud 
voice,  "  Silence  !  let  no  one  begin  fighting,  for  God 


CONQUEST    OF  ITZA. 


197 


is  on  our  side,  and  there  is  nothing  to  fear."  The 
Spaniards  were  enraged,  but  Don  Martin  still  cried 
out,  "  Let  no  one  fire,  on  pain  of  death  !"  The  ar- 
rows from  the  shore  were  like  thick  rain.  The 
Spaniards  could  scarcely  be  restrained,  and  one  sol- 
dier, wounded  in  the  arm,  and  enraged  by  the  pain, 
fired  his  musket ;  the  rest  followed ;  the  general 
could  no  longer  control  them,  and,  without  waiting 
till  they  reached  the  shore,  as  soon  as  the  oars  stop- 
ped all  threw  themselves  into  the  water,  Don  Mar- 
tin de  Ursua  among  them.  The  Indians  were  thick 
as  if  collected  at  the  mouth  of  a  cannon  ;  but  at  the 
horrible  noise  and  destruction  of  the  fire-arms  they 
broke  and  fled  in  terror.  The  vessel,  with  twenty 
soldiers,  attacked  the  canoes,  and  those  both  in  the 
canoes  and  on  the  land,  from  the  king  to  the  small- 
est creature,  all  leaped  into  the  water,  and  from  the 
island  to  the  main  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  the 
heads  of  Indians,  men,  women,  and  children,  swim- 
ming for  life.  The  Spaniards  entered  the  deserted 
town,  and  hoisted  the  royal  standard  on  the  highest 
point  of  Peten.  With  a  loud  voice  they  returned 
thanks  to  God  for  his  mercies,  and  Don  Martin  Ur- 
sua took  formal  possession  of  the  island  and  the  ter- 
ritory of  Itza  in  the  name  of  the  king.  The  vicar 
claimed  it  as  belonging  to  the  bishopric  of  Yucatan, 
and  in  stole  and  bonnet  blessed  the  lake.  This  took 
place  on  the  thirteenth  of  March,  1697,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  years  after  the  foundation  of  Mer- 
ida,  and  but  one  hundred  and  forty-five  years  ago. 


198 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


We  have,  then,  accounts  of  visits  by  the  padres 
sixty  years  after  the  subjugation  of  Yucatan,  and  a 
detailed  account  of  the  conquest  of  Itza,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  years  afterward  ;  and  what  did 
they  find  on  the  island  ]  The  monks  say  that, 
when  taken  to  look  over  the  city,  they  went  to  the 
middle  and  highest  part  of  the  island  to  see  the  kues 
and  adoratorios  of  the  heathen  idols,  and  that 
"  there  were  twelve  or  more  of  the  size  of  the  lar- 
gest churches  in  the  villages  of  the  Indians  in  the 
province  of  Yucatan,  each  one  of  which  was  capa- 
ble of  containing  more  than  one  thousand  persons." 

The  Spanish  soldiers,  too,  almost  before  they 
had  time  to  sheath  their  blood-stained  swords,  were 
•seized  with  holy  horror  at  the  number  of  adorato- 
rios, temples,  and  houses  of  idolatry.  The  idols 
were  so  numerous,  and  of  such  various  forms,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  give  any  description  of  them,  or 
even  to  count  them ;  and  in  the  private  houses  of 
these  barbarous  infidels,  even  on  the  benches  on 
which  they  sat,  were  two  or  three  small  idols. 

According  to  the  historical  account,  there  were 
twenty-one  adoratorios,  or  temples.  The  principal 
one  was  that  of  the  great  false  priest  (iuin-canek, 
first  cousin  of  the  king  Canek.  It  was  of  square 
form,  with  handsome  breastwork,  and  nine  steps,  all 
of  wrought  stone,  and  each  front  was  about  sixty 
feet,  and  very  high.  It  is  again  mentioned  as  being 
in  the  form  of  a  castillo,  and  this  name,  perhaps, 
makes  a  stronger  impression  on  my  mind  from  the 


TEMPLES  AND   IDOLS   OF   THE   INDIANS.  199 


fact  that  in  the  ruined  cities  of  Chichen  and  Tu- 
loom,  which  will  be  presented  to  the  reader  hereaf- 
ter, there  is  an  edifice  bearing  to  this  day  the  name 
of  El  Castillo,  given  to  it  by  the  Spaniards,  doubt- 
less, from  the  same  resemblance  to  a  castle  wdiich 
induced  General  Ursua  to  apply  that  name  to  the 
adoratorio  in  Peten.  On  the  last  step  at  the  en- 
trance was  an  idol  in  a  squatting  position,  sitting 
close  to  the  ground,  in  human  form,  but  with  a  very 
unprepossessing  countenance. 

Another  great  adoratorio  is  described,  of  the  same 
form  and  similar  construction,  and  the  rest  are  men- 
tioned only  with  reference  to  the  number  and  char- 
acter of  the  idols  they  contained  ;  but,  probably,  if 
there  had  been  any  material  difference  in  form  or 
construction,  it  would  have  been  mentioned,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  ill  ahke. 
These  descriptions  are  brief  and  general,  but,  in  my 
opinion,  they  are  sufficient  to  identify  the  adorato- 
rios  and  temples  on  this  island  as  being  of  the  same 
general  character  with  all  the  ruined  buildings  scat- 
tered over  this  country ;  and  this  presumption  has 
great  additional  interest  from  another  important  con- 
sideration, for  we  have  clear  and  authentic  historical 
accounts,  perhaps  more  reUable  than  any  others  rela- 
ting to  the  aborigines  of  this  country,  of  the  very  peo- 
ple by  whom  and  the  very  time  within  which  these 
kues,  adoratorios,  and  temples  were  erected. 

According  to  both  Cogolludo  and  Villagutierres, 
who  drew  their  conclusions  from  occurrences  of 


200 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


such  late  date  as  to  leave  but  little  room  for  error, 
the  Itzites,  or  people  of  Itza,  were  originally  from 
the  land  of  Maya,  now  Yucatan,  and  once  formed 
part  of  that  nation.  At  the  time  of  the  insurrection 
of  the  caciques  of  Maya,  and  the  destruction  of 
Mayapan,  Canek,  one  of  the  rebellious  caciques,  got 
possession  of  the  city  of  Chichen  Itza.  As  it  is 
sometimes  said,  on  account  of  the  foretelling  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Spaniards  by  one  of  their  prophets, 
but  more  probably  on  account  of  the  insecurity  of 
his  possessions,  he  withdrew  with  his  people  from 
the  province  of  Chichen  Itza  to  the  most  hidden 
and  impenetrable  part  of  the  mountains,  and  took 
possession  of  the  Lake  of  Peten,  estabUshing  his  res- 
idence on  the  large  island  which  now  bears  that 
name.  This  emigration,  according  to  the  history, 
took  place  but  about  one  hundred  years  before  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Spaniards.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  all 
the  adoratorios  and  temples  which  Don  Martin  Ur- 
sua  found  on  the  island  must  have  been  erected  with- 
in that  time.  The  conquest  took  place  in  March, 
1697,  and  we  have  the  interesting  fact,  that  but  about 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  years  ago,  within  the  pe- 
riod of  two  lives,  a  city  existed  occupied  by  unbap- 
tized  Indians,  precisely  in  the  same  state  as  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  having  kucs,  adorato- 
rios, and  temples  of  the  same  general  character  with 
the  great  structures  now  scattered  in  ruins  all  over 
that  country.  This  conclusion  cannot  be  resisted 
except  by  denying  entirely  the  credit  of  all  the  his- 
torical accounts  existing  on  the  subject. 


IDOLS   DESTROYED   BY   THE   SPANIARDS.  201 

And  where  are  these  kues,  adoratorios,  and  tem- 
ples now  ?  In  both  my  journeys  into  that  country, 
it  was  always  my  intention  to  visit  the  island  of  Pe- 
ten,  and  it  has  been  a  matter  of  deep  regret  that  I 
was  never  able  to  do  so  ;  but  as  the  result  of  my  in- 
quiries, particularly  from  the  venerable  cura  who 
furnished  me  with  the  itinerary,  and  who  lived  many 
years  on  the  island,  I  am  induced  to  beheve  that 
there  are  no  buildings  left,  but  that  there  are  feeble 
vestiges,  not  enough  in  themselves  to  attract  the  at- 
tention of  mere  curiosity,  but  which  may  possess 
immense  antiquarian  interest,  as  making  manifest 
the  hand  of  the  builders  of  the  American  cities. 
But  even  if  these  twenty-one  kues,  adoratorios,  or 
temples  have  entirely  disappeared,  not  one  stone  be- 
ing left  upon  another,  this  does  not  impeach  the 
truth  of  the  historical  account  that  they  once  exist- 
ed, for  in  the  history  of  the  Spaniards'  first  day  on 
the  island  w^e  have  an  indication  of  what  the  same 
ruthless  spirit  might  accomplish  in  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  years.  General  Ursua  took  possession  of 
the  island  at  half  past  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and,  immediately  after  returning  thanks  to  God  for 
the  victory,  the  first  order  he  issued  was  for  each 
captain  and  officer,  with  a  party  of  soldiers,  to  pro- 
ceed forthwith  to  different  parts  of  the  city  to  re- 
connoiter  all  the  temples,  and  houses  of  idolaters 
and  of  individuals,  and  to  hurl  down  and  break  the 
idols.  The  general  himself  set  out,  accompanied  by 
the  vicar  and  assistant,  and  we  learn  incidentally, 

Vol.  IL— C  c 


202 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


and  only  as  a  means  of  conveying  an  idea  of  the 
multitude  of  idols  and  figures  thrown  down  by  the 
Spaniards,  that  the  taking  of  the  island  having  been 
at  half  past  eight  in  the  morning,  they  were  occu- 
pied, with  but  little  intermission,  in  throwing  down, 
breaking,  and  burning  idols  and  statues,  from  that 
hour  until  half  past  live  in  the  evening,  when  the 
drum  called  them  to  eat,  which,  says  the  historian, 
was  very  necessary  after  so  great  labour  ;  and  if  one 
day  served  for  destroying  the  idols,  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  years,  in  which  were  erected  a  fort,  church- 
es, and  other  buildings  that  now  exist,  may  well  have 
effected  the  complete  destruction  of  all  the  native 
edifices  for  idol  worship. 

I  have  asked  where  are  the  adoratorios  and  tem- 
ples of  Peten,  and  I  am  here  tempted  to  ask  one 
other  question.  Where  are  the  Indians  whose 
heads  on  that  day  of  carnage  and  terror  covered 
the  water  from  the  island  to  the  main  1  Where 
are  those  unhappy  fugitives,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  other  islands  and  of  the  territory  of  Itza  1 
They  fled  before  the  terrible  Spaniard,  plunged 
deeper  into  the  wilderness,  and  are  dimly  connected 
in  my  mind  with  that  mysterious  city  before  referred 
to ;  in  fact,  it  is  not  difficult  for  me  to  believe  that 
in  the  wild  region  beyond  the  Lake  of  Peten,  never 
yet  penetrated  by  a  white  man,  Indians  are  now  liv- 
ing as  they  did  before  the  discovery  of  America ; 
and  it  is  almost  a  part  of  this  belief  that  they  are 
using  and  occupying  adoratorios  and  temples  hke 


DETENTION. 


203 


those  now  seen  in  ruins  in  the  wilderness  of  Yuca- 
tan. 

The  reader  will  perhaps  think  that  I  have  gone 
quite  far  enough,  and  that  it  is  time  to  come  back. 

The  next  on  our  hst  were  the  ruins  of  Maco- 
ba,  lying  on  the  rancho  of  our  friend  the  cura  of 
Xul,  and  then  in  the  actual  occupation  of  Indians. 
We  learned  that  the  most  direct  road  to  this  place 
was  an  Indian  path,  but  the  best  way  to  reach  it 
was  to  retrace  our  steps  as  far  the  rancho  of  Senor 
Trego ;  at  least,  this  was  so  near  being  the  best 
that  the  opportunity  of  passing  the  night  with  him 
determined  us  to  set  out  immediately  by  that  route. 
We  had  our  Indian  carriers  in  attendance  at  the 
village  ;  but,  unluckily,  while  preparing  to  set  out, 
Mr.  Catherwood  was  taken  with  fever,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  postpone  our  departure. 

We  had  another  subject  of  anxiety,  but  more 
moderate,  in  the  conduct  of  Don  Juan.  He  had 
not  been  near  us  all  day,  and  we  could  not  account 
for  his  neglect ;  but  toward  evening  Albino  learned 
that  the  night  before  he  had  lost  sixteen  dollars  at 
the  gaming-table,  and  had  kept  his  hammock  ever 
since. 

The  next  day  it  rained.  On  Sunday  the  rain 
still  continued.  Early  in  the  morning  the  ministro 
came  over  from  the  village  of  Hopochen  to  say 
mass,  and,  while  lounging  about  to  note  the  prospect 
in  regard  to  the  weather,  I  stopped  under  the  shed 
where  the  gaming-table  remained  ready  for  use,  to 


204 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


which,  when  mass  was  over,  all  the  better  classes 
came  from  the  chm'ch  in  clean  dresses,  prepared  for 
business. 

It  was  a  matter  of  some  curiosity  to  me  to  know 
how  these  men  lived  ;  none  of  them  worked.  Their 
only  regular  business  seemed  to  be  that  of  gambling. 
On  taking  a  seat  among  them,  I  learned  the  secret 
from  themselves.  Each  man  had  several  outstand- 
ing loans  of  four  or  five  dohars  made  to  Indians,  or 
he  had  sold  agua  ardiente  or  some  other  trifling 
commodity,  which  created  an  indebtedness.  This 
made  the  Indian  a  criado,  or  servant,  and  mortgaged 
his  labour  to  the  creditor  or  master,  by  the  use  of 
which,  in  milpas  or  tobacco  plantations,  the  latter 
lived.  By  small  occasional  suppUes  of  cocoa  or 
spirit  they  keep  alive  the  indebtedness  ;  and  as  they 
keep  the  accounts  themselves,  the  poor  Indians,  in 
their  ignorance  and  simplicity,  are  ground  to  the 
earth  to  support  lazy  and  profligate  masters. 

We  had  not  formed  any  very  exalted  opinion  of 
these  people,  and  they  did  not  rate  themselves  very 
high.  Don  Juan  had  told  us  that  the  Indians  were 
all  drunkards,  and  half  the  white  people;  and  the 
other  half  had  occasionally  to  take  to  the  hammock; 
he  said,  too,  that  they  were  all  gamblers,  and  the  al- 
calde, as  he  shuffled  the  cards,  confirmed  it,  and  ask- 
ed me  to  join  them.  He  inquired  if  there  was  no 
gambling  in  my  country,  or  what  people  did  with 
their  money  if  they  did  not  gamble,  and  he  allowed 
that  to  expend  it  in  horses,  carriages,  dinners,  furni- 


A    VILLAGE    OF    GAMBLERS.  205 

ture,  dress,  and  other  particulars  suggested  by  some 
of  them,  was  sensible  enough ;  for,  as  he  said  very 
truly,  when  they  died  they  could  not  carry  it  away 
with  them.  I  mentioned  that  in  my  country  gam- 
bling was  forbidden  by  law,  and  that  for  gambling 
in  the  street,  and  on  a  Sunday,  they  would  all  be 
taken  up  and  punished.  This  touched  the  alcalde 
in  his  office,  and  he  started  up  with  the  cards  in  his 
hand,  and  looking  indignantly  at  the  people  under  his 
charge,  said  that  there  too  it  was  forbidden  by  law ; 
that  any  one  who  gambled,  or  who  connived  at  it, 
or  who  permitted  it  in  his  house,  was  liable  to  be 
declared  not  a  citizen  ;  that  they  had  laws,  and  very 
good  ones;  all  knew  them,  but  nobody  minded  them. 
Everybody  gambled,  particularly  in  that  village  ;  they 
had  no  money,  but  they  gambled  corn  and  tobacco, 
and  he  pointed  to  a  man  then  crossing  the  plaza, 
who  the  night  before  had  gambled  away  a  hog.  He 
admitted  that  sometimes  it  was  a  good  way  to  make 
money,  but  he  pointed  to  a  miserable-looking  young 
man,  not  more  than  two  or  three-and-twenty,  whose 
father,  he  said,  had  ranchos,  and  Indians,  and  houses, 
and  ready  money,  and  was  close-fisted,  and  had  left 
all  to  that  son,  who  was  now  looking  for  seven  and 
sixpence  to  make  up  a  dollar,  and  the  young  man 
himself,  with  a  ghastly  smile,  confirmed  the  tale.  The 
alcalde  then  continued  with  a  running  commentary 
upon  the  idleness  and  extravagance  of  the  people  in 
the  village ;  they  were  all  lazy,  and  having  illustra- 
tions at  hand,  he  pointed  to  an  Indian  just  passing 

18 


206  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

with  three  striDgs  of  beef,  which,  he  said,  had  cost 
him  a  medio  and  a  half,  and  would  be  consumed  at 
a  meal,  and  that  Indian,  he  knew,  had  not  a  medio  in 
the  world  to  pay  his  capitation  tax.  One  of  the 
gentlemen  present  then  suggested  that  the  govern- 
ment had  lately  passed  an  iniquitous  law  that  no  In- 
dian should  be  compelled  to  work  unless  he  chose ; 
if  he  refused,  he  could  not  be  whipped  or  imprison- 
ed, and  what  could  be  expected  in  such  a  state  of 
things  1  Another  gentleman  interposed  with  great 
unction,  declaring  that  the  alcalde  of  a  neighbouring 
village  did  not  mind  the  law,  but  went  on  whipping 
the  same  as  before.  All  this  time  a  dozen  Indians, 
by  the  constitution  free  and  independent  as  them- 
selves, sat  on  the  ground  without  saying  a  word, 
merely  staring  from  one  to  the  other  of  the  speakers. 

After  this  the  conversation  turned  upon  our  own 
party,  and  finally  settled  upon  Doctor  Cabot.  I  re- 
gretted to  find  that,  in  a  community  which  had  pat- 
ronised him  so  extensively,  there  was  some  diversity 
of  opinion  as  to  his  qualifications.  There  was  one 
dissenting  voice,  and  the  general  discussion  settled 
down  into  a  warm  argument  between  the  two  broth- 
ers of  Don  Juan,  the  alcalde  and  the  keeper  of  the 
gambling-table,  the  latter  of  whom  held  up  an  ugly 
sandalled  foot,  with  a  great  excrescence  upon  it,  and 
said,  rather  depreciatingly,  that  the  doctor  did  not 
cure  his  corns.  The  alcalde  was  stanch,  and  thrust 
forward  his  cured  child,  but  his  brother  shook  his 
head,  still  holding  out  his  foot,  and  I  am  sorry  to 


DEPARTURE    FROM  ITURBIDE. 


207 


say  that,  so  far  as  I  could  gather  the  sense  of  the 
community,  Doctor  Cabot's  reputation  as  a  medico 
received  somewhat  of  a  shock. 

In  the  afternoon  the  rain  ceased,  and  we  bade  fare- 
well to  the  new  village  of  Iturbide.  As  we  passed, 
Don  Juan  left  his  place  at  the  table  to  bid  us  good- 
by,  and  a  little  before  dark  we  reached  the  rancho 
Noyaxche  of  Senor  Trego,  where  we  again  received 
a  cordial  welcome,  and  in  his  intelligent  society 
found  a  relief  from  the  dulness  of  Iturbide. 


208 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Journey  resumed. — An  Aguada. — The  Aguadas  artificial,  and  built 
by  the  Aboriginal  Inhabitants. — Examination  of  one  by  Senor 
Trego. — Its  Construction. — Ancient  Wells. —  Pits. —  A  Sugar 
Rancho. — Rancho  of  'Y-a-Walthel. — Rancho  of  Choop. — Arri- 
val at  Macoba. — The  Ruins. — Lodgings  in  a  miserable  Hut. — 
Wells. —  Ruined  Buildings. — Another  Aguada. — Pits.— Aston- 
ishment of  the  Indians. — Falling  in  Love  at  first  Sight. — Inter- 
esting Characters. — Departure. — Thick  Undergrowth. — Rancho 
of  Puut. — An  Incident. — Situation  of  the  Rancho. — Water. — 
Ruins  of  Mankeesh, 

The  next  morning  after  breakfast  we  again  set 
out.  Senor  Trego  escorted  us,  and,  following  a 
broad  wagon  road  made  by  him  for  the  passage  of 
the  horse  and  cart,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  and 
a  half  we  came  to  a  large  aguada,  which  is  rep- 
resented in  the  plate  opposite.  It  was  apparently 
a  mere  pond,  picturesque,  and  shaded  by  trees,  and 
having  the  surface  covered  with  green  water  plants, 
called  by  the  Indians  Xicin-chah,  which,  instead 
of  being  regarded  as  a  blot  upon  the  picturesque, 
were  prized  as  tending  to  preserve  the  water  from 
evaporation.  Indians  were  then  filling  their  water- 
jars,  and  this  aguada  was  the  only  watering-place  of 
the  rancho.    These  aguadas  had  become  to  us  inter- 


AN  AGUADA. 


211 


esting  objects  of  consideration.  Ever  since  our  ar- 
rival in  the  country,  we  had  been  told  that  they 
were  artificial,  and,  like  the  ruined  cities  we  were 
visiting,  the  works  of  the  ancient  inhabitants.  At 
first  we  had  considered  these  accounts  unrehable, 
and  so  nearly  approaching  the  marvellous  that  we 
put  but  little  faith  in  them ;  but  as  we  advanced 
they  assumed  a  more  definite  character.  We  were 
now  in  a  region  where  the  people  were  entirely  de- 
pendant upon  the  aguadas  ;  all  considered  them  the 
works  of  the  antiguos ;  and  we  obtained  at  length 
what  we  had  long  sought  for,  certain,  precise,  and 
definite  information,  which  would  not  admit  of  ques- 
tion or  doubt. 

Failing  in  his  attempt  to  procure  water  from  the 
well,  before  referred  to,  in  the  plaza,  in  1835  Senor 
Trego  turned  his  attention  to  this  aguada.  He  be- 
lieved that  it  had  been  used  by  the  ancients  as  a 
reservoir,  and  took  advantage  of  the  dry  season  to 
make  an  examination,  which  satisfied  him  that  his 
supposition  was  correct.  For  many  years  it  had 
been  abandoned,  and  it  was  then  covered  three  or 
four  feet  deep  with  mud.  At  first  he  was  afraid  to 
undertake  with  much  vigour  the  work  of  clearing  it 
out,  for  the  prejudices  of  the  people  were  against  it, 
and  they  feared  that,  by  disturbing  the  aguada,  the 
scanty  supply  then  furnished  might  be  cut  off.  In 
1836  he  procured  a  permission  from  the  govern- 
ment, by  great  exertions  secured  the  co-operation  of 
all  the  ranchos  and  haciendas  for  leagues  around, 


212 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


and  at  length  fairly  enlisting  them  all  in  the  task, 
at  one  time  he  had  at  work  fifteen  hundred  Indians, 
with  eighty  superintendents  (major  domos).  On 
clearing  out  the  mud,  he  found  an  artificial  bottom 
of  large  flat  stones.     These  were  laid  upon  each 

other  in  this  form  | — L  J — ^ ,  and  the  interstices 

were  filled  in  with  clay  of  red  and  brown  colour, 
of  a  different  character  from  any  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. The  stones  were  many  layers  deep,  and 
he  did  not  go  down  to  the  bottom,  lest  by  some  ac- 
cident the  foundation  should  be  injured,  and  the  fault 
be  imputed  to  him. 

Near  the  centre,  in  places  which  he  indicated  as 
we  rode  along  the  bank,  he  discovered  four  ancient 
wells.  These  were  five  feet  in  diameter,  faced  with 
smooth  stone  not  covered  with  cement,  eight  yards 
deep,  and  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  were  also 
filled  with  mud.  And,  besides  these,  he  found  along 
the  margin  upward  of  four  hundred  casimbas,  or  pits, 
being  holes  into  which  the  water  filtered,  and  which, 
with  the  wells,  were  intended  to  furnish  a  supply 
when  the  aguada  should  be  dry. 

The  whole  bottom  of  the  aguada,  the  wells,  and 
pits,  were  cleared  out ;  Senor  Trego  portioned  ofT 
the  pits  among  families,  to  be  preserved  and  kept  in 
order  by  them,  and  the  dry  basin  was  then  given  up 
to  the  floods  of  the  rainy  season.  It  so  happened 
that  the  next  year  was  one  of  unusual  scarcity,  and 
the  whole  country  around  was  perfectly  destitute  of 


WATER    AFFORDED    BY    THIS   AGUADA.  213 


water.  That  year,  Senor  Trego  said,  more  than 
a  thousand  horses  and  mules  came  to  this  agua- 
da,  some  even  from  the  rancho  of  Santa  Rosa, 
eighteen  miles  distant,  with  barrels  on  their  backs, 
and  carried  away  water.  Families  established 
themselves  along  the  banks ;  small  shops  for  the 
sale  of  necessaries  were  opened,  and  the  butcher  had 
his  shambles  with  meat ;  the  aguada  supplied  them 
all,  and  when  this  failed,  the  wells  and  the  pits  held 
out  abundantly  till  the  rainy  season  came  on,  and 
enabled  them  to  return  to  their  several  homes. 

Throughout  our  journey  we  had  suffered  from 
the  long  continuance  of  the  rainy  season,  and  at  this 
place  we  considered  it  one  of  the  greatest  misfor- 
tunes that  attended  us,  that  we  were  unable  to  see 
the  bottom  of  this  aguada  and  these  ancient  wells. 
Senor  Trego  told  us  that  usually,  at  this  season,  the 
aguada  was  dry,  and  the  people  were  drawing  from 
the  wells  and  pits.  This  year,  happily  for  them,  but 
unluckily  for  us,  water  was  still  abundant.  Still  it 
was  a  thing  of  high  interest  to  see  this  ancient  reser- 
voir recovered  and  restored  to  its  original  uses,  and, 
as  we  rode  along  the  bank,  to  have  indicated  to  us 
the  particular  means  and  art  used  to  render  it  avail- 
able. Hundreds  are  perhaps  now  buried  in  the 
woods,  which  once  furnished  this  element  of  life  to 
the  teeming  population  of  Yucatan. 

Leaving  the  aguada,  our  road  lay  over  a  level  and 
wooded  plain,  then  wet  and  muddy  from  the  recent 
rains,  and  at  the  distance  of  a  league  we  reached 


214 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


the  sugar  ranclio  of  a  gentleman  from  Oxcutzcab, 
who  had  been  a  co-worker  with  Senor  Trego  in 
clearing  out  the  aguada,  and  confirmed  all  that  the 
latter  had  told  us.  A  league  beyond  we  came  to 
the  rancho  of  'Y-a-walthel,  inhabited  entirely  by  In- 
dians, and  beyond  our  road  opened  upon  a  fine  sa- 
vanna, in  which  were  several  aguadas.  Beyond  this 
we  reached  the  rancho  of  Choop,  and  came  into  a 
good  road,  different  from  the  usual  milpa  paths,  and 
like  a  well-beaten  camino  real,  made  so  by  the  con- 
stant travelling  of  beasts  with  water  kegs  to  the 
aguadas. 

In  the  afternoon  we  passed  the  campo  santo  of 
Macoba,  and  very  soon,  ascending  a  hill,  we  saw 
through  the  trees  the  "  old  walls"  of  the  ancient  in- 
habitants. It  was  one  of  the  wildest  places  we  had 
seen  ;  the  trees  were  grander,  and  we  were  some- 
what excited  on  approaching  it,  for  we  had  heard 
that  the  old  city  was  repeopled,  and  that  Indians 
were  again  living  in  the  buildings.  It  was  almost 
evening ;  the  Indians  had  returned  from  their  work ; 
smoke  was  issuing  from  the  ruins,  and,  as  seen 
through  the  trees,  the  very  tops  seemed  alive  with 
people ;  but  as  we  approached  we  almost  turned 
away  with  sorrow.  It  was  like  the  wretched  Arabs 
of  the  Nile  swarming  around  the  ruined  temples  of 
Thebes,  a  mournful  contrast  of  present  misery  and 
past  magnificence.  The  doors  were  stopped  with 
leaves  and  branches ;  the  sculptured  ornaments  on 
the  facades  were  blackened  by  smoke  rolling  from 


RUINS    OF  MACOBA. 


215 


the  doorways,  and  all  around  were  the  confusion  and 
filthiness  of  Indian  housekeeping.  As  w^e  rode  up 
the  Indians  stared  at  us  in  astonishment,  and  the 
scared  women  snatched  up  their  screaming  children 
and  ran  away. 

Amono;  these  ruins  a  rancho  had  been  erected  for 
the  major  domo,  and  as  everything  we  had  hereto- 
fore seen  belonging  to  the  cura  of  Xul  w^as  in  fine 
order,  we  had  no  fears  about  our  accommodations ; 
but  we  found  that  nothing  in  this  world  must  be  ta- 
ken for  granted.  The  rancho  was  thatched,  and 
had  a  dirty  earthen  floor,  occupied  by  heaps  of  corn, 
beans,  eggs,  boxes,  baskets,  fowls,  dogs,  and  pigs. 
There  were  two  small,  dirty  hammocks,  in  one  of 
which  was  swinging  an  Indian  lad,  and  from  the 
other  had  just  been  taken  a  dead  man,  whose  new 
grave  we  had  seen  at  the  campo  santo. 

The  major  domo  w^as  a  short,  stupid,  well-mean- 
ing old  man,  who  apologized  for  the  confusion  on 
account  of  the  death  and  burial  that  had  just  taken 
place.  He  was  expecting  us,  had  his  master's  or- 
ders to  treat  us  with  all  due  consideration,  and  we 
directed  the  rancho  to  be  swept  out.  As  night 
approached,  we  began  to  feel  that  our  discomforts 
might  be  increased,  for  our  carriers  did  not  make 
their  appearance.  We  had  no  apprehensions  of 
robbery.  Bernaldo  was  with  them,  and,  knowing 
his  propensities,  we  supposed  that  he  had  stopped 
at  some  rancho,  where,  in  waiting  to  have  some  tor- 
tillas made,  he  had  got  belated,  and  was  unable  to 


216 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


find  the  road ;  but,  whatever  the  cause,  we  missed 
the  comforts  of  our  travelling  equipage.  We  were 
v^ithout  candles,  too,  and  sat  in  the  miserable  ran- 
cho  in  utter  darkness,  listening  for  the  sound  of 
the  approaching  carriers,  until  Albino  procured  a 
broken  vessel  of  castor  oil  with  a  wick  in  it,  which, 
by  faintly  illuminating  one  corner,  disclosed  more 
clearly  the  dreariness  and  discomfort  of  the  scene. 

But  worse  than  all  was  the  prospect  of  sleeping 
in  the  flea-infested  hammocks,  from  one  of  which  the 
body  of  a  dead  man  had  just  been  taken.  We  got  the 
major  domo  to  remove  them  and  hire  others,  which, 
perhaps,  were  in  reality  not  much  better.  Albino 
and  Dimas  had  to  he  down  on  the  earthen  floor,  but 
they  could  not  remain  long.  Dimas  mounted  length- 
wise upon  a  log,  and  Albino  doubled  himself  up  in 
a  bano,  or  bathing-tub,  which  kept  him  from  the 
bare  ground,  but  not  above  the  jump  of  a  flea.  For- 
tunately, we  suffered  excessively  from  cold,  which 
prevented  us  from  being  thrown  into  a  fever,  but  it 
was  one  of  the  worst  nights  we  had  passed  in  the 
country. 

Early  in  the  morning  Bernaldo  made  his  appear- 
ance, he  and  the  carriers  having  had  a  harder  time 
than  our  own.  They  had  been  lost,  and  had  wan- 
dered till  ten  o'clock,  when  they  came  to  a  rancho, 
where  they  learned  their  mistake,  but  were  too  much 
tired  to  carry  their  loads  any  farther,  and,  with  an 
Indian  from  the  rancho  to  guide  them,  had  set  out 
two  hours  before  daylight. 


WELLS. 


217 


The  rancho  of  Macoba  had  been  estabhshed  but 
four  years.  It  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  im- 
mense forest ;  as  yet  it  had  been  used  only  for  the 
cukivation  of  maize,  but  the  cura  intended  the  en- 
suing year  to  commence  a  plantation  of  sugar.  His 
inducement  to  estabhsh  a  rancho  at  this  place  was 
the  existence  of  the  ruined  buildings,  which  saved 
the  expense  of  erecting  huts  for  his  criados  ;  and  he 
was  influenced  also  by  the  wells  and  other  remains 
of  ancient  watering-places.  In  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  the  buildings,  without  inquiring  or  seeking  for 
them,  we  came  across  four  wells,  but  all  filled  up  with 
rubbish,  and  dry.  Indeed,  so  many  were  known  to 
exist,  and  the  other  means  of  supply  were  so  abund- 
ant, that  Senor  Trego  was  about  becoming  a  part- 
ner with  the  cura,  under  the  expectation  of  clearing 
out  and  restoring  these  ancient  reservoirs,  furnishing 
an  abundant  supply  of  water,  and  calling  around 
them  a  large  Indian  population. 

In  the  mean  time  the  cura  had  constructed  two 
large  tanks,  or  cisterns,  one  of  which  was  twenty- 
two  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  same  in  depth,  and 
the  other  eighteen.  Both  these  were  under  a  large 
circular  roof,  or  top  platform,  covered  with  cement, 
and  sloping  toward  the  centre,  which  received  the 
great  body  of  rain-water  that  fell  in  the  rainy  season, 
and  transmitted  it  into  the  cisterns,  and  these  fur- 
nished a  supply  during  the  whole  of  the  dry  season, 
as  the  major  domo  said,  for  fifty  souls,  besides  fowls, 
hogs,  and  one  horse. 

Vol.  IL— E  e  19 


218 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  ruins  at  this  place  were  not  so  extensive  as 
we  expected  to  find  them.  There  were  but  two 
buildings  occupied  by  the  Indians,  both  in  the  im- 
mediate neighbourhood  of  our  hut,  and  much  ruin- 
ed, one  of  which  is  represented  in  the  plate  oppo- 
site. A  noble  alamo  tree  was  growing  by  its  side, 
and  holding  it  up,  which,  while  I  was  in  another  di- 
rection, the  Indians  had  begun  to  cut  down,  but 
which,  fortunately,  I  returned  in  time  to  save.  The 
building  is  about  120  feet  front,  and  had  two  stories, 
with  a  grand  staircase  on  .the  other  side,  now  min- 
ed. The  upper  story  was  in  a  ruinous  condition, 
but  parts  of  it  were  occupied  by  Indians. 

In  the  afternoon  Doctor  Cabot  and  myself  set  out 
for  a  ride  to  the  aguada,  induced  somewhat  by  the 
forest  character  of  the  country,  and  the  accounts  the 
Indians  gave  us  of  rare  birds,  which  they  said  were 
to  be  found  in  that  direction.  The  road  lay  through 
a  noble  piece  of  woods,  entirely  different  from  the 
usual  scrubby  growth,  with  thorny  and  impenetrable 
underbrush,  being  the  finest  forest  we  had  seen, 
and  abounding  in  sapote  and  cedar  trees.  At  the 
distance  of  half  a  league  a  path  turned  off  to  the 
right,  overgrown,  and  hardly  distinguishable,  follow- 
ing which  we  reached  the  aguada.  It  was  a  mere 
hollow  basin,  overgrown  with  high  grass.  We  rode 
down  into  it,  and,  dismounting,  my  first  step  from  the 
side  of  my  horse  carried  me  into  a  hole,  being  a  ca- 
simba,  or  pit,  made  by  the  Indians  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  the  filtrations  of  water.    We  discovered 


FEARS    OF    THE  INDIANS. 


219 


Others  of  the  same  kind,  and  to  save  our  horses,  back- 
ed them  out  to  the  edge  of  the  aguada,  and  moved 
cautiously  around  it  ourselves.  These  pits  were  no 
doubt  of  modern  date,  and  we  could  not  discover 
any  indications  of  ancient  wells  ;  nevertheless,  such 
may  exist,  for  the  aguada  has  been  disused  and  neg- 
lected for  an  unknown  length  of  time.  Soil  had 
accumulated,  without  removing  which,  the  charac- 
ter and  construction  of  the  bottom  could  not  be  as- 
certained. 

I  returned  from  the  aguada  in  time  to  assist  Mr. 
Catherwood  in  taking  the  plan  of  the  buildings. 
Our  appearance  in  this  wilderness  had  created  as- 
tonishment among  the  Indians.  All  day,  whenever 
we  drew  near  to  the  buildings,  the  women  and  chil- 
dren ran  inside,  and  now,  when  they  found  us  en- 
tering their  habitations,  they  all  ran  out  of  doors. 
The  old  major  domo,  unused  to  such  a  commotion 
among  the  women,  followed  us  close,  anxiously,  but 
respectfully,  and  without  uttering  a  word  ;  and  when 
we  closed  the  book  and  told  him  we  had  finished, 
he  raised  both  hands,  and,  with  a  relieved  expres- 
sion, exclaimed,  "  Gracios  a  Dios,  la  obra  es  acaba- 
da !"  "  Thank  God,  the  work  is  done  !" 

I  have  nothing  to  say  concerning  the  history  of 
these  ruins.  They  are  the  only  memorials  of  a  city 
which,  but  for  them,  would  be  utterly  unknown,  and 
I  do  not  find  among  my  notes  any  memoranda  show- 
ing how  or  from  whom  we  first  received  the  intelli- 
gence of  their  existence. 


1 


220  INCIDENTS     OF  TRAVEL. 

March  2.  Early  in  the  morning  we  were  again 
preparing  to  move,  but,  when  on  the  eve  of  setting 
out,  we  learned  that  Bernaldo  wanted  to  vary  the 
monotony  of  travelling  by  getting  married.  He  had 
met  at  the  well  an  Indian  girl  of  thirteen,  he  him- 
self being  sixteen.  While  assisting  her  to  draw  wa- 
ter, some  tender  passages  had  taken  place  between 
them,  and  he  had  disclosed  to  Albino  his  passion  and 
his  wishes  ;  but  he  was  trammelled  by  that  impedi- 
ment which  all  over  the  world  keeps  asunder  those 
who  are  born  for  each  other,  viz.,  want  of  fortune. 
The  girl  made  no  objections  on  this  score,  nor  did 
her  father.  On  the  contrary,  the  latter,  being  a  pru- 
dent man,  who  looked  to  the  future  well- establishing 
of  his  daughter,  considered  Bernaldo,  though  not  in 
the  actual  possession  of  fortune,  a  young  man  of 
good  expectations,  by  reason  of  the  wages  that 
would  be  due  to  him  from  us  ;  but  the  great  dif- 
ficulty was  to  get  ready  money  to  pay  the  padre. 
Bernaldo  was  afraid  to  ask  for  it,  and  the  matter 
was  not  communicated  to  us  until  at  the  moment  of 
setting  out.  It  was  entirely  against  hacienda  law  to 
marry  off  the  estate  ;  Don  Simon  would  not  like  it ; 
and,  in  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  setting  out,  we 
had  no  time  to  deliberate  ;  we  therefore  sent  him  on 
before  us,  and  I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  say  that 
this  violence  to  his  affections  never  made  it  necessa- 
ry to  chans^e  the  appellation  which  we  had  given 
him  very  early  after  he  came  into  our  possession, 
namely,  the  fat  boy. 


RANG  HO    OF    PUUT.  221 

We  found  among  our  carriers  another  youthful 
example  of  blighted  affections,  but  recovering.  He 
was  a  lad  of  about  Bernaldo's  age,  to  wit,  sixteen, 
but  had  been  married  two  years  before,  was  a  father, 
a  widower,  and  about  to  be  married  again.  The 
story  was  told  us  in  his  hearing,  and,  from  his  smiles 
at  different  parts  of  it,  it  was  difficult  to  judge  which 
he  considered  the  most  amusing ;  and  we  had  still 
another  interesting  person,  being  a  runaway  Indian, 
who  had  been  caught  and  brought  back  but  a  few 
days  before,  and  upon  whom  the  major  domo 
charged  all  the  others  to  keep  a  good  look-out. 

Our  road  lay  through  the  same  great  forest  in 
which  the  ruins  stood.  At  the  distance  of  a  league 
we  descended  from  the  high  ground,  and  reached  a 
small  aguada.  From  this  place  the  road  for  some 
distance  was  hilly  until  we  came  out  upon  a  great 
savanna  covered  with  a  growth  of  bushes,  which 
rose  above  our  heads  so  thick  that  they  met  across 
the  path,  excluding  every  breath  of  air,  without 
shielding  us  from  the  sun,  and  exceedingly  difficult 
and  disagreeable  to  ride  through.  At  one  o'clock 
we  reached  the  suburbs  of  the  rancho  of  Puut. 
The  settlement  was  a  long  line  of  straggling  huts, 
which,  as  we  rode  through  them  under  the  blaze  of 
a  vertical  sun,  seemed  to  have  no  end.  Mr.  Cather- 
wood  stopped  at  one  of  them  for  a  cup  of  water,  and 
I  rode  on  till  I  reached  an  open  plain,  forming  a  sort 
of  square  with  thatched  houses,  and  on  one  side  a 
thatched  church.    I  inquired  of  a  woman  peeping 


222 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


out  of  a  door  for  the  casa  real,  and  was  directed  to 
a  ruined  hut  on  the  same  side,  at  the  door,  or,  rath- 
er, at  the  doorway  of  wliich  I  dismounted,  but  had 
hardly  crossed  the  threshold  when  I  saw  my  white 
pantaloons  speckled  with  little  jumping  black  in- 
sects. I  made  a  hasty  retreat,  and  saw  a  man  at  the 
moment  moving  across  the  plaza,  who  asked  me  to 
his  house,  which  was  clean  and  comfortable,  and 
when  Mr.  Catherwood  came  up  the  women  of  the 
house  were  engaged  in  preparing  our  dinner.  Mr. 
Catherwood  had  just  experienced  the  same  kind  of 
good  feeling  at  an  Indian  hut.  Water,  in  the  Maya 
language,  is  expressed  by  the  word  ha,  but,  being 
that  morning  rather  out  of  practice,  Mr.  Catherwood 
had  asked  for  ka,  w^hich  means  fire,  and  the  woman 
brought  him  a  lighted  brand.  He  motioned  that 
away,  but  still  continued  asking  for  ka^  fire.  The 
woman  went  in,  sat  down,  and  made  him  a  straw 
cigar,  which  she  brought  out  to  him.  Sitting  in  the 
broihng  sun,  and  perishing  with  thirst,  he  dropped 
his  Maya,  and  by  signs  made  her  understand  w^hat 
he  wanted,  when  she  brought  him  water. 

Our  host,  who  was  a  Meztizo  and  ex-alcalde, 
procured  for  us  another  empty  hut,  which,  by  the 
time  our  carriers  arrived,  we  had  swept  out  and 
made  comfortable. 

The  situation  of  this  rancho  was  on  a  fine  open 
plain ;  the  land  was  good,  and  water  abundant, 
though  not  very  near  at  hand,  the  supply  being  de- 
rived from  an  aguada,  to  which  we  sent  our  horses  ; 


RUINS    OF    M  A  N  K  E  E  S  H. 


223 


and  they  were  gone  so  long  that  we  determined  the 
next  morning,  as  the  agnada  lay  but  little  out  of  our 
road,  to  ride  by  it  and  water  them  ourselves. 

From  this  place  we  intended  to  visit  the  ruins  of 
Mankeesh,  but  we  learned  that  it  would  require  a 
large  circuit  to  reach  them,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
w^e  received  intelhgence  of  other  ruins  of  which  we 
had  not  heard  before,  at  the  rancho  of  Yakatzib,  on 
the  road  we  had  intended  taking.  We  determined 
for  the  present  to  continue  on  the  route  we  had 
marked  out,  and  it  so  happened  that  we  did  not 
reach  the  ruins  of  Mankeesh  at  all,  which,  accord- 
ing to  more  particular  accounts  received  afterward, 
when  it  was  too  late  to  profit  by  them,  merit  the  at- 
tention of  the  future  traveller. 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


'  CHAPTER  XIII. 

Rancho  t)f  Jalal. — Picturesque  Aguada. — Excavations  made  in  it 
by  the  Indians.  —  System  of  Aguadas.  —  Journey  resumed.  — 
Lose  the  Road. — An  Effort  in  the  Maya  Language.— Grove  of 
Orange  Trees. — Ruins  of  Yakatzib. — Dilapidated  Edifice. — Sto- 
ny Sierra.  — Village  of  Becanchen. —  Hospitality. — Sculptured 
Stones.  — Wells.  — Running  Stream  of  Water. —  Derivation  of 
the  Word  Becanchen. — Rapid  Growth  of  the  Village. — Source 
of  the  Water  of  the  Wells. — Accident  to  an  Indian. — The  Par- 
ty separate. — Aguadas. — A  Trogan. — Hacienda  of  Zaccacal. — 
Visit  to  the  Ruins.  —  Stone  Terrace.  —  Circular  Hole.  —  Two 
Buildings. — Garrapatas. — Black  Ants. — Return. 

At  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  started, 
and  at  the  distance  of  a  league  reached  the  rancho 
of  Jalal,  from  which  we  tm'ned  off  to  the  aguada 
to  water  our  horses.  The  plate  opposite  represents 
this  aguada.  When  we  first  came  down  upon  its 
banks  it  presented  one  of  the  most  beautifully  pic- 
turesque scenes  we  met  with  in  the  country.  It 
was  completely  enclosed  by  a  forest,  and  had  large 
trees  growing  around  the  banks  and  overhanging  the 
water.  The  surface  was  covered  with  water  weeds 
like  a  carpet  of  vivid  green,  and  the  aguada  had  a 
much  higher  interest  than  any  derived  from  mere 
beauty.  According  to  the  accounts  we  had  received 
at  the  rancho,  ten  years  before  it  was  dry,  and  the 


SYSTEM    OF  AGUADAS. 


227 


bottom  covered  with  mud  several  feet  deep.  The 
Indians  were  in  the  habit  of  digging  pits  in  it  for 
the  purpose  of  collecting  the  water  which  filtered 
through,  and  in  some  of  these  excavations  they 
struck  upon  an  ancient  well,  which,  on  clearing  it 
away,  was  found  to  be  of  singular  form  and  con- 
struction. It  had  a  square  platform  at  the  top,  and 
beneath  was  a  round  well,  faced  with  smooth  stones, 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  deep.  Below  this 
was  another  square  platform,  and  under  the  latter 
another  well  of  less  diameter,  and  about  the  same 
depth.  The  discovery  of  this  well  induced  farther 
excavations,  which,  as  the  whole  country  was  inter- 
ested in  the  matter,  were  prosecuted  until  upward  of 
forty  wells  were  discovered,  differing  in  their  char- 
acter and  construction,  and  some  idea  of  which  may 
be  formed  from  the  engraving  that  follows.  These 


were  all  cleared  out,  and  the  whole  aguada  repaired, 
since  which  it  furnishes  a  supply  during  the  greater 


228 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


part  of  the  dry  season,  and  when  this  fails  the  wells 
appear,  and  continue  the  supply  until  the  rains  come 
on  again. 

Leaving  this,  we  continued  again  upon  a  plain. 
Albino  had  not  come  up  wdth  us,  and  passing  through 
one  Indian  rancho,  we  came  to  another,  in  which 
were  many  paths,  and  we  w^ere  at  a  loss  which  to 
take.  The  men  were  all  away,  and  we  were  obli- 
ged to  chase  the  women  into  their  very  huts  to 
ask  directions.  At  the  last  hut  we  cornered  two, 
who  were  weaving  cotton,  and  came  upon  them  with 
our  great  effort  in  the  Maya  language,  "  Tush  y  am 
be — "  "  Is  this  the  way  to — "  adding  Yakatzib,  the 
name  of  the  rancho  at  which  we  were  told  there 
w^ere  ruins.  We  had  acquired  great  facility  in  asking 
this  question,  but  if  the  answer  went  beyond  "  yes" 
or  "  no,"  or  an  indication  with  the  hand,  as  was  the 
case  on  this  occasion,  it  was  entirely  beyond  our  at- 
tainments. The  women  gave  us  a  very  long,  and 
probably  a  very  civil  answer,  but  we  could  not  un- 
derstand a  word  of  it ;  and  finding  it  impossible  to 
bring  them  to  monosyllables,  we  asked  for  a  draught 
of  water  and  rode  on. 

When  we  had  gone  some  distance  beyond  the 
rancho,  it  occurred  to  us  that  this  might  be  Yakat- 
zib itself,  and  we  turned  back.  Before  reaching 
it,  however,  we  turned  off  into  a  grove  of  large  or- 
ange trees  at  one  side  of  the  road,  dismounted,  and 
tied  our  horses  under  the  shade  to  wait  for  Albino. 
The  trees  were  loaded  and  the  ground  covered  with 


RUINS    OF  YAKATZIB. 


229 


fruit,  but  the  oranges  were  all  of  the  sour  kind. 
We  could  not  sit  down  under  the  trees,  for  the 
ground  was  teeming  with  garrapatas,  ants,  and  other 
insects,  and  while  standing  we  were  obliged  to  switch 
them  off  with  our  riding  whips.  Soon  Albino  came 
thundering  along  on  the  trotter,  and  we  learned  that 
we  had  really  passed  Yakatzib,  as  the  women  had 
no  doubt  told  us.  While  we  were  mounting  to  go 
back,  a  boy  passed  on  a  miserable  old  horse,  his  bare 
body  perched  between  two  water-kegs,  with  which 
he  was  going  to  the  aguada.  For  a  medio  he  slip- 
ped off,  tied  his  horse  to  a  bush,  and  ran  before  us  as 
our  guide  through  the  rancho,  beyond  which,  turning 
off  to  the  right,  we  soon  reached  a  ruined  edifice. 

It  was  small,  and  the  whole  front  was  gone  ;  the 
door  had  been  ornamented  with  pillars,  which  had 
fallen,  and  lay  on  the  ground.  The  boy  told  us  that 
there  were  ruined  mounds,  but  no  other  remains  of 
buildings.  We  turned  back  without  dismounting, 
and  continued  our  journey. 

At  two  o'clock  we  reached  the  foot  of  a  stony 
sierra,  or  mountain  range,  toilsome  and  laborious  for 
the  horses,  but  Mr.  Catherwood  remarked  that  his 
pricked  up  his  ears  and  trod  lightly,  as  if  just  begin- 
ning a  journey.  From  the  top  of  the  same  sierra  we 
saw  at  its  foot,  on  the  other  side,  the  village  of  Be- 
canchen,  where,  on  arriving,  we  rode  through  the 
plaza,  and  up  to  a  large  house,  the  front  of  which 
was  adorned  with  a  large  red  painting  of  a  major 
domo  on  horseback,  leading  a  bull  into  the  ring. 

20 


230 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


We  inquired  for  the  casa  real,  and  were  directed  to 
a  miserable  thatched  house,  where  a  gentleman  step- 
ped out  and  recognised  Mr.  Catherwood's  horse, 
which  had  belonged  to  Don  Simon  Peon,  and 
through  the  horse  he  recognised  me,  having  seen 
me  with  Don  Simon  at  the  fair  at  Jalacho,  on  the 
strength  of  which  he  immediately  offered  his  house 
for  a  posada,  or  inn,  which  offer,  on  looking  at  the 
casa  real,  we  did  not  hesitate  to  accept. 

We  were  still  on  the  great  burial-ground  of  ruined 
cities.  In  the  corridor  of  the  house  were  sculptured 
stones,  which  our  host  told  us  were  taken  from  the 
ancient  buildings  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  they  had 
also  furnished  materials  for  the  foundation  of  every 
house  on  the  plaza ;  and  besides  these  there  were 
other  memorials.  In  the  plaza  were  eight  wells, 
then  furnishing  an  abundant  supply  of  water,  and 
bearing  that  stamp  which  could  not  be  mistaken,  of 
the  hand  of  the  ancient  builders.  Below  the  plaza, 
on  the  declivity  of  the  hill,  was  water  gushing  from 
the  rocks,  filling  a  clear  basin  beneath,  and  running 
off  till  it  was  lost  in  the  woods.  It  was  the  first 
time  in  our  whole  journey  that  we  had  seen  anything 
like  a  running  stream,  and  after  the  parched  regions 
through  which  we  had  passed,  of  almost  inaccessi- 
ble caves,  muddy  aguadas,  and  little  pools  in  the 
hollows  of  rocks,  it  was  a  refreshing  and  delightful 
spectacle.  Our  Indian  carriers  had  taken  up  their 
quarters  under  a  brush  fence,  in  sight  and  within 
reach  of  the  stream,  and  to  them  and  the  muleteers 


VILLAGE    OF    B  E  C  A  N  C  H  E  N.  231 

it  was  like  the  fountain  to  the  Arab  in  the  desert,  or 
the  rivers  of  sw^eet  water  promised  to  the  faithful  in 
the  paradise  of  Mohammed. 

The  history  of  this  village  has  all  the  wildness  of 
romance,  and,  indeed,  throughout  this  land  of  se- 
pulchred cities  the  genius  of  romance  sits  enthron- 
ed. Its  name  is  derived  from  this  stream  of  water, 
being  compounded  of  the  Maya  words  Becan,  run- 
ning, and  chen,  a  well.  Twenty  years  ago  the  coun- 
try round  about  was  a  wilderness  of  forest.  A  sol- 
itary Indian  came  into  it,  and  made  a  clearing  for 
his  milpa.  In  doing  so  he  struck  upon  the  running 
stream,  followed  it  until  he  found  the  water  gushing 
from  the  rock,  and  the  whole  surface  now  occupied 
by  the  plaza  pierced  with  ancient  wells.  The  In- 
dians gathered  round  the  wells,  and  a  village  grew 
up,  which  now  contains  six  thousand  inhabitants  ;  a 
growth,  having  regard  to  the  difference  in  the  re- 
sources of  the  country  and  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple, equal  in  rapidity  to  that  of  the  most  prosperous 
towns  in  ours. 

These  wells  are  all  mere  excavations  through  a 
stratum  of  limestone  rock,  varying  in  depth  accord- 
ing to  the  irregularity  of  the  bed,  and  ifi  general  not 
exceeding  four  or  five  feet.  The  source  of  the  wa- 
ter is  considered  a  mystery  by  the  inhabitants,  but  it 
seems  manifest  that  it  is  derived  from  the  floods  of 
the  rainy  season.  The  village  is  encompassed  on 
three  sides  by  hills.  On  the  upper  side  of  the  pla- 
za, near  the  corner  of  a  street  running  back  to  the 


232  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

elevated  range,  is  a  large  hole  or  natural  opening  in 
n  the  rock,  and  during  the  whole  of  the  rainy  season 
a  torrent  of  water  collects  into  a  channel,  pours 
down  this  street,  and  empties  into  this  hole.  As  > 
we  were  told,  the  body  of  water  is  so  great  that  for 
a  week  or  ten  days  after  the  last  rains  the  stream 
continues  to  run ;  and  at  the  time  of  our  visit  it  was 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  water  in  the 
wells  is  always  at  the  same  level  with  that  in  the 
hole.  They  rise  and  fall  together  ;  and  there  is  an- 
other con  elusive  proof  of  direct  connexion,  for,  as 
we  were  told,  a  small  dog  that  had  been  swept  into 
the  hole  appeared  some  days  afterward  dead  in  one 
of  the  most  distant  wells. 

Doctor  Cabot  and  I  descended  into  one  of  the 
wells,  and  found  it  a  rude,  irregular  cavern,  about 
twenty-five  feet  in  diameter ;  the  roof  had  some  de- 
gree of  regularity,  and  perhaps,  to  a  certain  extent, 
was  artificial.  Directly  under  the  mouth  the  water 
was  not  more  than  eighteen  inches  deep,  but  the  bot- 
tom was  uneven,  and  a  step  or  two  beyond  the  wa- 
ter was  so  deep  that  we  could  not  examine  it  thor- 
oughly. By  the  fight  of  a  candle  we  could  see  no 
channel  of  communication  with  the  other  wells,  but 
on  one  side  the  water  ran  deep  under  a  shelving  of 
the  rock,  and  here  there  were  probably  some  crevices 
through  which  it  passed ;  indeed,  this  must  have 
been  the  case,  for  this  was  the  well  in  which  the 
dog  had  come  to  light. 

When  we  emerged  from  this  well  other  business 


ACCIDENT    TO    AN    INDIAN.  233 

offered.  Having  little  or  no  intercourse  with  the 
capital,  this  village  was  the  first  which  Doctor  Ca- 
bot's fame  had  not  reached,  and  our  host  took  me 
aside  to  ask  me  in  confidence  whether  Doctor  Ca- 
bot was  a  real  medico  ;  which  fact  being  easily  es- 
tablished by  my  evidence,  he  wanted  the  medico 
to  visit  a  young  Indian  whose  hand  had  been  man- 
gled by  a  sugar-mill.  Doctor  Cabot  made  some  in- 
quiries, the  answers  to  which  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  cut  off  the  hand ;  but, 
unluckily,  at  the  last  reduction  of  our  luggage  he 
had  left  his  amputating  instruments  behind.  He 
had  a  hand-saw  for  miscellaneous  uses,  which  would 
serve  in  part,  and  Mr.  Catherwood  had  a  large 
spring-knife  of  admirable  temper,  which  Doctor  Ca- 
bot said  would  do,  but  the  former  flatly  objected  to 
its  conversion  into  a  surgical  instrument.  It  had 
been  purchased  at  Rome  twenty  years  before,  and 
in  all  his  journeyings  had  been  his  travelling  com- 
panion ;  but  after  such  an  operation  he  would  nev- 
er be  able  to  use  it  again.  Strong  arguments  were 
urged  on  both  sides,  and  it  became  tolerably  manifest 
that,  unless  amputation  was  necessary  to  save  the 
boy  from  dying,  the  doctor  would  not  get  the  knife. 

Reaching  the  house,  we  saw  the  Indian  sitting  in 
the  sala,  the  hand  torn  off  to  within  about  an  inch  of 
'  the  wrist,  and  the  stump  swollen  into  a  great  ball  six 
inches  in  diameter,  perfectly  black,  and  literally  alive 
with  vermin.    At  the  first  glance  I  retreated  into 
Vol.  IL— G  g 


* 


234  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

the  yard,  and  thence  into  the  kitchen,  when  a  wom- 
an engaged  in  cooking  ran  out,  leaving  her  vessels 
boiling  over  the  fire.  I  superintended  her  cooking, 
and  dried  my  damp  clothes,  determined  to  avoid 
having  anything  to  do  with  the  operation  ;  but,  for- 
tunately for  me  and  Mr.  Catherwood's  knife,  Doctor 
Cabot  considered  that  it  was  not  advisable  to  am- 
putate. It  was  ten  days  since  the  accident  hap- 
pened, and  the  wound  seemed  to  be  healing.  Doc- 
tor Cabot  ascribed  the  lad's  preservation  to  the  sound 
and  healthy  state  of  the  blood,  arising  from  the  sim- 
ple diet  of  the  Indian. 

At  this  place  we  determined  to  separate  ;  Mr. 
Catherwood  to  go  on  direct  to  Peto,  a  day  and  a 
half's  journey  distant,  and  lie  by  a  few  days  to  re- 
cruit, w^hile  Doctor  Cabot  and  I  made  a  retrograde 
and  circuitous  movement  to  the  village  of  Mani. 
While  speaking  of  our  intention,  a  by-stander,  Don 
Joaquin  Sais,  a  gentleman  of  the  village,  told  us 
of  ruins  on  his  hacienda  of  Saccacal,  eight  leagues 
distant  by  a  milpa  road,  and  said  that  if  we  would 
wait  a  day,  he  would  accompany  us  to  visit  them  ; 
but  as  we  could  not,  he  gave  us  a  letter  to  the  ma- 
jor domo. 

Early  the  next  morning  Doctor  Cabot  and  I  set 
out  with  Albino  and  a  single  Indian,  the  latter  car- 
rying a  petaquilla  and  hammocks.  We  left  the  vil- 
lage by  the  running  stream,  and  rode  for  some  time 
along  a  deep  gully  made  by  the  great  body  of  water 
which  rushes  through  it  in  the  rainy  season.  At 


HACIENDA    OF  SACCACAL. 


235 


half  past  nine  we  reached  a  large  aguada,  the  banks 
of  which  were  so  muddy  that  it  was  impossible  to 
get  down  to  it  to  drink.  A  league  beyond  we 
reached  another,  surrounded  by  fine  shade  trees, 
with  a  few  ducks  floating  quietly  upon  its  surface. 
As  we  rode  up  Dr.  Cabot  shot  a  trogan,  one  of  the 
rare  birds  of  that  country,  adorning  by  its  briUiant 
plumage  the  branches  of  an  overhanging  tree.  We  ^ 
lost  an  hour  of  hard  riding  by  mistaking  our  roa(^ 
among  the  several  diverging  tracks  that  led  from  the 
aguada.  It  was  very  hot ;  the  country  was  deso- 
late, and,  suffering  from  thirst,  we  passed  some  In- 
dians under  the  shade  of  a  large  seybo  tree  eating 
tortillas  and  chili,  to  whom  we  rode  up,  confident 
of  procuring  water ;  but  they  either  had  none,  or, 
as  Albino  supposed,  hid  it  away  as  we  approached. 
At  one  o'clock  we  came  to  another  aguada,  but  the 
bank  was  so  muddy  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  to 
the  water  without  miring  our  horses  or  ourselves, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  turn  away  without  relief 
from  our  distressing  thirst.  Beyond  this  we  turned 
off  to  the  left,  and,  unusually  fatigued  with  the  heat 
and  hard  riding,  although  we  had  come  but  eight 
leagues,  to  our  great  satisfaction  we  reached  the  ha- 
cienda of  Zaccacal. 

Toward  evening,  escorted  by  the  major  domo  and 
a  vaquero  to  show  the  way,  I  set  out  for  the  ruins. 
At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  on  the  road  to  Te- 
kax,  we  turned  off  into  the  woods  to  the  left,  and 
very  soon  reached  the  foot  of  a  stone  terrace.  The 


236 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL. 


vaquero  led  the  way  up  it  on  horseback,  and  we  fol- 
lowed, dismounting  at  the  top.  On  this  terrace  was 
a  circular  hole  like  those  before  referred  to  at  Ux- 
mal  and  other  places,  but  much  larger ;  and,  looking 
down  into  it  till  my  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the 
darkness,  I  saw  a  large  chamber  with  three  recesses 
in  different  parts  of  the  wall,  which  the  major  domo 
said  were  doors  opening  to  passages  that  went  un- 
der ground  to  an  extent  entirely  unknown.  By 
means  of  a  pole  with  a  crotch  I  descended,  and 
found  the  chamber  of  an  oblong  form.  The  doors, 
as  the  major  domo  called  them,  were  merely  recesses 
about  two  feet  deep.  Touching  one  of  them  with 
my  feet,  I  told  him  that  the  end  of  his  passage  was 
there,  but  he  said  it  was  tapado,  or  closed  up,  and 
persisted  in  asserting  that  it  led  to  an  indefinite  ex- 
tent. It  was  difficult  to  say  what  these  recesses 
were  intended  for.  They  threw  a  mystery  around 
the  character  of  these  subterranean  chambers,  and 
unsettled  the  idea  of  their  being  all  intended  for 
wells. 

Beyond  this,  on  a  higher  terrace,  among  many  re- 
mains, were  two  buildings,  one  of  which  was  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  and  the  exterior  was  orna- 
mented ail  around  with  pillars  set  in  the  wall,  some- 
what different  from  those  in  the  facades  of  other  build- 
ings, and  more  fanciful.  The  interior  consisted  of  but 
a  single  apartment,  fifteen  feet  long  and  nine  feet  wide. 
The  ceiling  was  high,  and  in  the  layer  of  flat  stones 
along  the  centre  of  the  arch  was  a  single  stone,  like 


THE  RUINS.  GAR  RAP  AT  AS.  BLACK  ANTS.  237 

that  seen  for  the  first  time  at  Kewick,  ornamented 
with  painting. 

This  building  stood  in  front  of  another  more  over- 
grown and  ruined,  which  had  been  an  imposing  and 
important  edifice.  The  plan  was  comphcated,  and 
the  exterior  of  one  part  was  rounded,  but  the  round- 
ed part  w^as  a  sohd  mass,  and  within  the  wall  was 
straight.  In  the  back  wall  was  a  recess,  once  oc- 
cupied, perhaps,  by  a  statue.  Altogether,  there  was 
much  about  this  edifice  that  was  new  and  curious ; 
and  there  were  other  cerros,  or  mounds,  of  undistin- 
guishable  ruins. 

Short  as  my  visit  was,  there  were  few  considera- 
tions that  could  have  tempted  me  to  remain  longer. 
The  garrapatas  would  soon  be  over,  but  they  contin- 
ued with  the  rainy  season,  and,  in  fact,  increased 
and  multiplied.  I  discovered  them  the  moment  I 
dismounted,  and  at  first  attempted  to  whip  them  off, 
but  wishing  to  get  through  before  night,  I  hurried 
round  this  building,  creeping  under  branches  and 
tearing  aside  bushes,  and,  actually  covered  with  the 
abominable  insects,  started  for  the  road. 

In  hurrying  forward  I  unwittingly  crossed  the  track 
of  a  procession  of  large  black  ants.  These  proces- 
sions are  among  the  extraordinary  spectacles  of  that 
country,  darkening  the  ground  for  an  hour  at  a  time  ; 
and  the  insect  has  a  sting  equal  to  that  of  hornets, 
as  I  quickly  learned  on  this  occasion.  When  I 
reached  the  road  I  was  almost  numbed  with  pain, 
and  when  I  mounted  I  felt  that  nothing  could  tempt 


238 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


me  to  live  in  such  a  country.  The  hacienda  was 
in  an  unusually  pretty  situation.  Opposite  was  a 
long  line  of  hills ;  the  sun  was  setting,  and  it  was 
precisely  the  hour  and  the  scene  for  a  country  ram- 
ble ;  but  the  owner  of  thousands  of  acres  could  nev- 
er diverge  from  the  beaten  path  without  bringing 
these  pests  upon  him. 

I  returned  to  the  house,  where  the  major  domo 
kindly  provided  me  with  warm  water  for  a  bath, 
which  cooled  the  fever  of  my  blood.  At  night,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  country,  we  had  at  one  end  of 
the  room  the  hammocks  of  the  women,  but  this  was 
not  so  bad  as  ants  or  garrapatas. 


SAN  JOSE. 


239 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Village  of  San  Jose. — Thatched  Church. — The  Cura. — A  refrac- 
tory Indian. — Attachment  of  the  Indians. — Journey  to  Mani. — 
The  Sierra. — Hacienda  of  Santa  Maria. — A  ruined  Mound. — 
Good  Road. — Arrival  at  the  City  of  Tekax. — A  bloodless  Rev- 
olution.— Situation  and  Appearance  of  the  City. — An  interest- 
ing Meeting. — Curiosity  of  the  People. — Akil. — The  Site  of  a 
ruined  City. — Sculptured  Stones. — Journey  resumed. — Arrival 
at  Mani. — Historical  Notice. — Tutul  Xiu. — Embassy  to  the 
Lords  of  Zotuta. — Ambassadors  murdered. — Mani  the  first  inte- 
rior Town  that  submitted  to  the  Spaniards. — Scanty  Supply  of 
Water  throughout  the  Country. — Important  Consideration. — A 
touching  Discovery. 

March  5.  Early  the  next  morning  we  set  out 
for  the  ruins  of  San  Jose.  At  seven  o'clock  we 
reached  the  pueblocito,  or  little  village,  of  that  name, 
pleasantly  situated  between  a  range  of  hills  and  a 
sierra,  containing  about  two  hundred  inhabitants, 
among  whom,  as  we  rode  into  the  plaza,  we  saw 
several  white  men.  At  the  casa  real  we  found  a 
cacique  of  respectable  appearance,  who  told  us  that 
there  were  no  "  old  walls"  in  that  village,  which  re- 
port of  his,  other  Indians  standing  round  confirmed. 
We  were  not  much  disappointed,  nor  at  all  anxious 
to  find  anything  that  would  make  it  necessary  to 
change  our  plans ;  to  lose  no  time,  we  determined 
to  push  on  to  Mani,  eight  leagues  distant,  and  ap- 


240 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


plied  for  an  Indian  to  carry  our  hammocks,  which 
the  cacique  undertook  to  provide. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  square  was  a  thatch- 
ed church,  the  bell  of  which  was  tolling  for  morning 
mass,  and  before  the  door  was  a  group  of  men,  sur- 
rounding a  portly  old  gentleman  in  a  round  jacket, 
who  I  knew  must  be  the  padre.  They  all  confirm- 
ed the  accounts  we  had  received  at  the  casa  real, 
that  there  were  no  ruins;  but  the  cura,  enforcing 
his  words  with  an  Ave  Maria,  said  that  at  Ticum, 
the  head  of  his  curacy,  there  were  bastante,  or 
enough  of  them.  He  intended  to  return  immedi- 
ately after  mass,  and  wanted  us  to  go  with  him  to 
see  them,  and  write  a  description  of  them.  I  felt  a 
strong  disposition  to  do  so,  if  it  was  only  to  pass  a 
day  with  him  at  the  convent ;  but,  on  inquiring,  I 
learned  that  the  "  old  walls"  were  entirely  in  ruins; 
they  had  furnished  materials  for  that  church  and 
convent,  and  all  the  stone  houses  of  the  village. 

While  this  was  going  on  at  the  door  of  the 
church,  an  Indian  sexton  was  pulling  lustily  at  the 
bell-rope,  ringing  for  mass,  and,  as  if  indignant  that 
his  warning  was  not  attended  to,  he  made  it  so 
deafening  that  it  was  really  a  labour  for  us  to  hear 
each  other.  The  cura  seemed  in  no  hurry,  but  I 
had  some  scruples  about  keeping  the  congregation 
waiting,  and  returned  to  the  casa  real. 

Here  a  scene  had  just  taken  place,  of  which  no- 
thing but  the  noise  of  the  bell  prevented  my  having 
some  previous  knowledge.    The  cacique  had  sent 


A    REFRACTORY    INDIAN.  241 

m  m 

for  an  Indian  to  carry  our  load,  but  the  latter  re- 
fused to  obey,  and  was  insolent  to  the  cacique,  who, 
in  a  rage,  ordered  him  to  be  put  into  the  stocks. 
When  I  entered,  the  recusant,  sullen  and  silent, 
was  waiting  the  execution  of  his  sentence,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  he  was  lying  on  his  back  on  the 
ground,  with  both  legs  secured  in  the  stocks  above 
his  knees.  The  cacique  sent  for  another,  and  in 
the  mean  time  an  old  woman  came  in  with  a  roll  of 
tortillas,  and  a  piteous  expression  of  face.  She  was 
the  mother  of  the  prisoner,  and  took  her  seat  on  the 
stocks  to  remain  with  him  and  comfort  him ;  and, 
as  the  man  rolled  his  head  on  the  ground,  and  the 
woman  looked  wonderingly  at  us,  we  reproached 
ourselves  as  the  cause  of  his  disaster,  and  endeav- 
oured to  procure  his  release,  but  the  cacique  would 
not  listen  to  us.  He  said  that  the  man  was  pun- 
ished, not  for  refusing  to  go  with  us,  although  bound 
to  do  so  on  account  of  indebtedness  to  the  village, 
but  for  insolence  to  himself  He  was  evidently  one 
who  would  not  allow  his  authority  to  be  trifled 
with ;  and  seeing  that,  without  helping  the  Indian, 
we  might  lose  the  benefit  of  the  cacique's  good  dis- 
positions in  our  favour,  we  were  fain  to  desist.  At 
length,  though  evidently  with  some  difficulty,  he 
procured  another  Indian.  As  we  mounted,  we 
made  a  final  effort  in  behalf  of  the  poor  fellow  in  the 
stocks ;  and,  though  apparently  unable  to  compre- 
hend why  we  should  take  any  interest  in  the  mat- 
ter, the  cacique  promised  to  release  him. 
Vol.  II.— Hh  21 


242  INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 

T^is  ^er,  we  found  that  we  had  thrown  another 
family  into  confusion.  The  wife  and  a  Uttle  daugh- 
ter of  our  carrier  accompanied  him  to  the  top  of  a 
hill  beyond  the  village,  where  they  bade  him  fare- 
well as  if  he  was  setting  out  on  a  long  and  danger- 
ous journey.  The  attachment  of  the  Indian  to  his 
home  is  a  striking  feature  of  his  character.  The 
affection  which  grows  up  between  the  sexes  was 
supposed  by  the  early  writers  upon  the  character  of 
the  Indians  not  to  exist  among  them,  and  probably 
the  sentiment  and  refinement  of  it  do  not ;  but  cir- 
cumstances and  habit  bind  together  the  Indian 
man  and  woman  as  strongly  as  any  known  ties. 
When  the  Indian  grows  up  to  manhood  he  requires 
a  woman  to  make  him  tortillas,  and  to  provide  him 
warm  water  for  his  bath  at  night  He  procures 
one,  sometimes  by  the  providence  of  the  master, 
without  much  regard  to  similarity  of  tastes  or  parity 
of  age  ;  and  though  a  young  man  is  mated  to  an  old 
woman,  they  live  comfortably  together.  If  he  finds 
her  guilty  of  any  great  offence,  he  brings  her  up  be- 
fore the  master  or  the  alcalde,  gets  her  a  whipping, 
and  then  takes  her  under  his  arm  and  goes  quietly 
home  with  her.  The  Indian  husband  is  rarely 
harsh  to  his  wife,  and  the  devotion  of  the  wife  to 
her  husband  is  always  a  subject  of  remark.  They 
share  their  pleasures  as  well  as  their  labours  ;  go  up 
together  with  all  their  children  to  some  village  fies- 
ta, and  one  of  the  most  afflicting  incidents  in  their 


HACIENDA    OF    SANTA    MARIA.  243 

lot  is  a  necessity  that  takes  the  husband  from  his 
home. 

In  the  suburbs  of  the  village  we  commenced  as- 
cending the  sierra,  from  the  top  of  which  we  saw 
at  the  foot  the  hacienda  of  Santa  Maria.  Behind 
it  rose  a  high  mound,  surrounded  by  trees,  indicating 
that  here  too  were  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city. 

Descending  the  sierra,  we  rode  up  to  the  hacien- 
da, and  saw  three  gentlemen  sitting  under  a  shed 
breakfasting.  One  of  them  had  on  a  fur  hat,  a  mark 
of  civiUzation  which  we  had  not  seen  for  a  long 
time ;  an  indication  that  he  was  from  the  city  of 
Tekax,  and  had  merely  come  out  for  a  morning 
ride. 

The  proprietor  came  out  to  receive  us,  and, 
pointing  to  the  mound,  we  made  some  inquiry  about 
the  building,  but  he  did  not  comprehend  us,  and, 
supposing  that  we  meant  some  old  ranches  in  that 
direction,  said  that  they  were  for  the  servants.  Al- 
bino explained  that  we  were  travelhng  over  the 
country  in  search  of  ruins,  and  the  gentleman  look- 
ed at  him  perhaps  somewhat  as  the  inn-keeper 
looked  at  Sancho  Panza  when  he  explained  that 
his  master  was  a  knight-errant  travelling  to  redress 
grievances.  We  succeeded,  however,  in  coming  to 
an  understanding  about  the  mound,  and  the  master 
told  us  that  he  had  never  been  to  it ;  that  there  was 
no  path  ;  that  if  we  attempted  to  go  to  it  we  should 
be  eaten  up  by  garrapatas,  and  he  called  some  In- 
dians, who  said  that  it  was  entirely  in  ruins.  This 


244 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


was  satisfactory,  for  the  idea  of  being  loaded  with 
garrapatas  to  carry  about  till  night  had  almost  made 
me  recoil.  At  the  same  time,  the  other  gentle- 
men told  us  of  other  ruins  at  a  league's  distance 
from  Tekax,  on  the  hacienda  of  Senor  Calera.  I 
felt  strongly  disposed  to  turn  off  and  visit  the  latter, 
but  our  carrier  had  gone  on,  and  the  little  difficul- 
ties of  overtaking  him,  procuring  another  for  a 
change  of  route,  and  perhaps  losing  a  day,  were 
now  serious  objections ;  besides,  there  was  no  end 
to  the  ruins. 

Leaving  the  hacienda,  we  entered,  with  a  satis- 
faction that  can  hardly  be  described,  upon  a  broad 
road  for  carretas  and  calesas.  We  had  emerged 
from  the  narrow  and  tangled  path  of  milpas  and 
ranchos,  and  were  once  more  on  a  camino  real. 
We  had  accomplished  a  journey  which  we  were 
assured,  on  setting  out,  was  impracticable ;  and  now 
we  were  coming  upon  the  finest  portion  of  the 
state,  famed  for  its  rich  sugar  plantations.  We  met 
heavy,  lumbering  vehicles  drawn  by  oxen  and  hor- 
ses, carrying  sugar  from  the  haciendas.  Very  soon 
we  reached  Tekax,  one  of  the  four  places  in  Yu- 
catan bearing  the  name  of  a  city,  and  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  felt  some  degree  of  excitement.  Through- 
out Yucatan  our  journey  had  been  so  quiet,  so  free 
from  danger  or  interruption  of  any  kind,  that,  after 
my  Central  American  experience,  it  seemed  unnat- 
ural. Yucatan  was  in  a  state  of  open  rebelUon 
against  Mexico  ;  we  had  heard  of  negotiations,  but 


A    BLOODLESS    REVOLUTION.  245 

there  had  been  no  tumuk,  confusion,  or  bloodshed. 
Tekax  alone  had  broken  the  general  stillness,  and 
while  the  rest  of  the  country  was  perfectly  quiet, 
this  interior  city  had  got  up  a  small  revolution  on 
its  own  account,  and  for  the  benefit  of  whom  it 
might  concern. 

According  to  the  current  reports,  this  revolution 
was  got  up  by  three  patriotic  individuals,  whose 
names,  unfortunately,  I  have  lost.  They  belonged 
to  the  party  called  Los  Independientes,  in  favour  of 
declaring  independence  of  Mexico.  The  elections 
had  gone  against  their  party,  and  alcaldes  in  favour 
of  a  reannexation  to  Mexico  were  installed  in  of- 
fice. In  the  mean  time  commissioners  arrived  from 
Santa  Ana  to  negotiate  with  the  government  of  Yu- 
catan, urging  it  not  to  make  any  open  declaration, 
but  to  continue  quietly  in  its  state  of  independence 
de  facto  until  the  internal  difficulties  of  Mexico 
were  settled,  when  its  complaints  would  be  attended 
to  and  its  grievances  redressed.  Afraid  of  the  in- 
fluence which  these  commissioners  might  exercise, 
the  three  patriots  of  Tekax  resolved  to  strike  for 
liberty,  went  round  among  the  ranchos  of  the  sier- 
ra, and  collected  a  band  of  more  than  half-naked 
Indians,  who,  armed  with  machetes,  a  few  old  mus- 
kets, and  those  primitive  weapons  with  which  David 
slew  Goliath,  descended  upon  Tekax,  and,  to  the 
great  alarm  of  the  women  and  children,  took  pos- 
session of  the  plaza,  set  up  the  figure  of  Santa  Ana, 
pelted  him  with  stones,  put  some  bullets  into  him. 


246 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


burned  him  to  ashes,  and  shouted  "  Viva  la  inde- 
pendencia."  But  few  of  them  had  ever  heard  of 
Santa  Ana,  but  this  w^as  no  reason  w^hy  they  should 
not  pelt  him  with  stones  and  burn  him  in  effigy. 
They  knew  nothing  of  the  relations  between  Yu- 
catan and  Mexico,  and  by  the  cry  of  independencia 
they  meant  a  release  from  tribute  to  the  government 
and  debts  to  masters.  With  but  little  practice  in 
revolutions,  they  made  a  fair  start  by  turning  out  the 
alcaldes  and  levying  contributions  upon  political  op- 
ponents, and  threw  out  the  formidable  threat  that 
they  would  march  three  hundred  men  against  the 
capital,  and  compel  a  declaration  of  independence. 
Intelligence  of  these  movements  soon  reached  Mer- 
ida,  and  fearful  menaces  of  war  were  bandied  from 
one  city  to  the  other.  Each  waited  for  the  other 
to  make  the  first  demonstration,  but  at  length  the 
capital  sent  forth  its  army,  which  reached  Ticul  the 
day  after  I  left  at  the  conclusion  of  my  first  visit, 
and  while  Doctor  Cabot  was  still  there.  It  was 
then  within  one  day's  march  of  the  seat  of  rebel- 
lion, but  halted  to  rest,  and  to  let  the  moral  efiect  of 
its  approach  go  on  before.  The  reader  has  per- 
haps never  before  heard  of  Tekax ;  nevertheless,  a 
year  has  not  elapsed  since  the  patriotic,  half-naked 
band  in  arms  for  independence  thought  that  the  eyes 
of  the  whole  world  were  upon  them.  In  three  days 
the  regular  army  resumed  its  march,  with  cannon  in 
front,  colours  flying,  drums  beating,  and  the  women 
of  Ticul  laughing,  sure  that  there  would  be  no 


CITY    OF  TEKAX. 


247 


bloodshed.  The  same  day  it  reached  Tekax,  and 
the  next  morning,  instead  of  falling  upon  each  oth- 
er like  so  many  wild  beasts,  the  officers  and  the 
three  patriot  leaders  were  seen  walking  arm  in  arm 
together  in  the  plaza.  The  former  promised  good 
offices  to  their  new  friends,  two  reales  apiece  to  the 
Indians,  and  the  revolution  was  crushed.  All  dis- 
persed, ready  to  take  up  arms  again  upon  the  same 
terms  whenever  their  country's  good  should  so  re- 
quire. 

Such  were  the  accounts  we  had  received,  always 
coupled  with  sweeping  denunciations  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Tekax  as  revolutionary  and  radical,  and 
the  rabble  of  Yucatan.  Having  somewhat  of  a 
leaning  to  revolutions  in  the  abstract,  I  was  happy 
to  find  that,  with  such  a  bad  reputation,  its  appear- 
ance was  finer,  and  more  promising  than  that  of  any 
town  I  had  seen,  and  I  could  not  but  think  it  would 
be  well  for  Yucatan  if  many  of  her  dead-and-alive 
villages  had  more  such  rabble. 

The  city  stands  at  the  foot  of  the  sierra.  Riding 
up  the  street,  we  had  in  full  view  the  church  of  La 
Hermita,  with  a  broad  flight  of  stone  steps  scaling 
the  side  of  the  mountain.  The  streets  were  wide, 
the  houses  large  and  in  fine  order,  and  one  had 
three  stories,  with  balconies  overhanging  the  street; 
and  there  was  an  appearance  of  life  and  business, 
which,  coming  as  we  did  from  Indian  ranchos,  and 
so  long  away  from  anything  that  looked  like  a  city 


248  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

and  the  comforts  and  elegances  of  living,  was  really 
exciting. 

As  we  rode  along  a  gay  calesa  approached  us, 
occupied  by  a  gentleman  and  lady,  well  dressed  and 
handsome,  and,  to  our  surprise,  in  the  lady  we  rec- 
ognised the  fair  subject  upon  whom  we  had  begun 
business  as  Daguerreotype  portrait  takers,  and 
whose  gift  of  a  cake  had  penetrated  the  very  leath- 
er of  my  saddle-bags.  A  few  short  weeks  had  made 
a  great  change  in  her  condition ;  she  was  now 
riding  by  the  side  of  her  lawful  proprietor.  We  at- 
tempted, by  the  courtesy  of  our  salute,  to  withdraw 
attention  from  our  wearing  apparel.  Unluckily, 
Doctor  Cabot's  sombrero  was  tied  under  his  chin, 
so  that  he  could  not  get  it  off.  Mine,  with  one  of 
the  strings  carried  away,  described  a  circle  in  the 
air,  and,  as  the  doctor  maliciously  said,  disappeared 
under  my  horse.  The  gentleman  nodded  conde- 
scendingly, but  it  was  flattering  ourselves  to  believe 
that  the  lady  took  any  notice  of  us  whatever. 

But  though  old  friends  forgot  us,  we  were  not 
unnoticed  by  the  citizens  of  Tekax.  As  we  rode 
along  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  us.  We  stopped 
in  the  plaza,  which,  with  its  great  church  and  the 
buildings  around  it,  was  the  finest  we  had  seen  in 
the  country,  and  all  the  people  ran  out  to  the  cor- 
ridors to  gaze  at  us.  It  was  an  unprecedented  thing 
for  strangers  to  pass  through  this  place.  European 
saddles,  holsters,  and  arms  were  strange,  and,  in- 
cludhig  Albino,  we  made  the  cabahstic  number  of 


A  K  I  L. 


249 


three  which  got  up  the  late  revolution.  Knowing 
the  curiosity  we  excited,  and  that  all  were  anxious 
to  speak  to  us,  without  dismounting  or  exchanging 
a  word  with  an  inhabitant,  w^e  passed  through  the 
plaza  and  continued  our  journey.  The  people 
were  bewildered,  as  if  the  ragged  tail  of  a  comet 
had  passed  over  their  heads ;  and  afterward,  at  a 
distant  village,  we  heard  the  report  that  we  had 
passed  through  Tekax  vestidos  como  Moros,  or 
dressed  hke  Moors.  The  good  people,  having  nev- 
er seen  a  Moor,  and  not  being  very  familiar  with 
Moorish  costume,  had  taken  our  blouzes  for  such. 
The  strange  guise  in  which  we  appeared  to  them 
alleviated  somewhat  the  mortification  of  not  being 
recognised  by  the  fair  lady  of  Merida. 

Our  road  lay  for  some  distance  along  the  sierra. 
It  was  broad,  open,  and  the  sun  beat  fiercely  upon 
us.  At  half  past  ten  we  reached  Akil,  and  rode  up 
to  the  casa  real.  At  the  door  was  a  stone  hollowed 
out  like  those  often  before  referred  to,  called  pilas. 
In  the  steps  and  foundation  were  sculptured  stones 
from  ruined  mounds  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood, and  the  road  along  the  yard  of  the  church  ran 
through  a  mound,  leaving  part  on  each  side,  and 
the  excavated  mass  forming  on  one  side  the  wall  of 
the  convent  yard.  The  rest  of  the  wall,  the  church, 
and  the  convent  were  built  with  stones  from  the 
ancient  buildings.  We  were  on  the  site  of  another 
ruined  city,  of  which  we  had  never  heard,  and 

Vol.  IL— I  i 


250 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


might  never  have  known,  but  for  the  telltale  memo- 
rials at  the  door  of  the  casa  real. 

At  a  quarter  before  three  we  resumed  our  jour- 
ney. The  sun  was  still  very  hot;  the  road  was 
straight,  stony,  and  uninteresting,  a  great  part  of 
the  way  through  overgrown  milpas.  At  half  past 
five  we  reached  Mani,  again  finding  over  the  door 
and  along  the  sides  of  the  casa  real  sculptured 
stones,  some  of  them  of  new  and  curious  designs ; 
in  one  compartment  was  a  seated  figure,  with  what 
might  seem  a  crown  and  sceptre,  and  the  figures 
of  the  sun  and  moon  on  either  side  of  his  head, 
curious  and  interesting  in  themselves,  independent 
of  the  admonition  that  we  were  again  on  the  site 
of  an  aboriginal  city. 

In  all  our  journey  through  this  country  there 
were  no  associations.  Day  after  day  we  rode  into 
places  unknown  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Yucatan, 
with  no  history  attached  to  them,  and  touching  no 
chord  of  feehng.  Mani,  however,  rises  above  the 
rest,  and,  compared  with  the  profound  obscurity  or 
the  dim  twilight  in  which  other  places  are  envel- 
oped, its  history  is  plainly  written. 

When  the  haughty  caciques  of  Maya  rebelled 
against  the  supreme  lord,  and  destroyed  the  city  of 
Mayapan,  the  reigning  monarch  was  left  with  only 
the  territory  of  Mani,  the  people  of  which  had  not 
joined  in  the  rebellion.  Here,  reduced  in  power 
to  the  level  of  the  other  caciques,  the  race  of  the 


MANX. 


251 


ancient  lords  of  Maya  ruled  undisturbed  until  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  invasion ;  but  the  shadow  of 
the  throne  rested  over  it ;  it  vs^as  consecrated  in  the 
affections  of  the  Indians,  and  long  after  the  conquest 
it  bore  the  proud  name  of  la  Corona  real  de  Mani. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  on  their  arrival  at 
Tihoo  the  Spaniards  encamped  on  a  cerro,  or 
mound,  w^hich  stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by 
the  plaza  of  Merida.  While  in  this  position,  sur- 
rounded by  hostile  Indians,  their  supplies  cut  off 
and  straitened  for  provisions,  one  day  the  scouts 
brought  intelligence  to  Don  Francisco  Montejo  of 
a  great  body  of  Indians,  apparently  w^arlike,  advan- 
cing tov^ard  them.  From  the  top  of  the  cerro  they 
discovered  the  multitude,  and  among  them  one 
borne  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  as  if  extended  on  a 
bier.  Supposing  that  a  battle  was  certain,  the 
Spaniards  recommended  themselves  to  God,  the 
chaplain  held  up  a  holy  cross,  and,  prostrating  them- 
selves before  it,  they  took  up  their  arms.  As  the 
Indians  drew^  near  to  the  cerro,  they  lov^ered  to  the 
ground  the  person  w^hom  they  carried  on  their 
shoulders,  who  approached  alone,  threw  down  his 
bow  and  arrow,  and,  raising  both  hands,  made  a 
signal  that  he  came  in  peace.  Immediately  all  the 
Indians  laid  their  bows  and  arrows  on  the  ground, 
and,  touching  their  fingers  to  the  earth,  kissed  them, 
'%lso»in  token  of  good- will. 

The  chief  advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  mound, 
and  began  to  ascend  it.    Don  Francisco  stepped 


252  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

forward  to  meet  him,  and  the  Indian  made  him  a 
profound  reverence  ;  Don  Francisco  received  him 
with  cordiaUty,  and,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  con- 
ducted him  to  his  quarters. 

This  Indian  was  Tutul  Xiu,  the  greatest  lord  in 
all  that  country,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  royal 
house  which  once  ruled  over  the  whole  land  of 
Maya,  and  then  cacique  of  Mani.  He  said  that, 
moved  by  the  valour  and  perseverance  of  the  Span- 
iards, he  had  come  voluntarily  to  render  obedience, 
and  to  offer  his  aid  and  that  of  his  subjects  for  the 
pacification  of  the  rest ;  and  he  brought  a  large 
present  of  turkeys,  fruits,  and  other  provisions.  He 
had  come  to  be  their  friend ;  he  desired,  also,  to  be 
a  Christian,  and  asked  the  adelantado  to  go  through 
some  Christian  ceremonies.  The  latter  made  a 
most  solemn  adoration  to  the  holy  cross,  and  Tutul 
Xiu,  watching  attentively,  imitated  the  Spaniard  as 
well  as  he  could  until,  with  many  demonstrations 
of  joy,  he  came  to  kiss  the  cross  on  his  knees.  The 
Spaniards  were  delighted,  and,  the  adoration  over, 
'they  remarked  that  this  fortunate  day  for  them  was 
that  of  the  glorious  San  Ildefonso,  whom  they  im- 
mediately elected  for  their  patron  saint. 

Tutul  Xiu  was  accompanied  by  other  caciques, 
whose  names,  as  found  in  an  Indian  manuscript, 
have  been  handed  down.  They  remained  with  the 
Spaniards  seventy  days,  and  on  taking  leave,  Tuti^ 
Xiu  promised  to  send  ambassadors  to  soUcit  the 
other  chiefs,  though  they  were  not  his  vassals,  to 


HISTORICAL  NOTICE. 


253 


render  obedience  to  the  Spaniards  ;  when,  leaving 
them  a  great  supply  of  provisions  and  many  Indian 
servants,  he  returned  to  Mani. 

He  convoked  all  his  Indians,  and  gave  them  no- 
tice of  his  intentions,  and  of  the  agreement  he  had 
made  wdth  the  Spaniards;  to  which  they  all  as- 
sented. 

Afterward  he  despatched  the  caciques  who  went 
with  him  to  render  submission  to  the  Spaniards,  as 
ambassadors  to  the  Lords  of  Zotuta,  called  the  Co- 
comes,  and  the  other  nations  to  the  east  as  far  as 
the  region  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Valladolid, 
making  known  to  them  his  resolution,  and  the 
friendship  he  had  contracted  with  the  Spaniards, 
and  beseeching  them  to  do  the  same ;  representing 
that  the  Spaniards  were  determined  to  remain  in 
the  land,  had  established  themselves  in  Campeachy, 
and  were  preparing  to  do  so  in  Tihoo ;  reminding 
them  how  many  battles  they  had  fought,  and  how 
many  lives  of  the  natives  had  been  lost ;  and  in- 
forming them  that  he  had  experienced  from  the 
Spaniards  while  he  remained  with  them  good-will, 
and  that  he  held  it  better  for  all  his  countrymen  to 
follow  his  example,  considering  the  dangers  of  the 
opposite  course. 

The  ambassadors  proceeded  to  the  district  of  Zo- 
tuta, and  made  known  their  embassy  to  Nachi  Co- 
com,  the  principal  lord  of  that  territory.  The  lat- 
ter requested  them  to  wait  four  or  five  days  for  their 
answer,  and  in  the  mean  time  convoked  all  his  de- 

22 


254 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


pendant  caciques,  who,  in  concert  with  this  chief, 
determined  to  make  a  great  wild-boar  hunt,  osten- 
sibly to  fete  the  ambassadors.  Under  tliis  pretext, 
they  enticed  them  from  the  inhabited  parts  of  the 
country  into  a  dense  forest,  and  feasted  them  three 
days.  On  the  fourth  they  assembled  to  eat  be- 
neath a  large  sapote  tree,  and  the  last  act  of  the 
feast  was  to  cut  the  throats  of  the  ambassadors, 
sparing  but  one,  whom  they  charged  to  inform  Tutul 
Xiu  of  their  reception  of  his  embassy,  and  to  re- 
proach him  with  his  cowardice ;  but  though  they 
spared  the  life  of  this  one,  they  put  out  his  eyes  with 
an  arrow,  and  sent  him,  under  the  charge  of  four 
captains,  to  the  territory  of  Tutul  Xiu,  where  they 
left  him  and  returned  to  their  own  country. 

Such  w^ere  the  unfortunate  circumstances  under 
which  Mani  became  known  to  the  Spaniards.  It 
w^as  the  first  interior  town  that  submitted  to  their 
power,  and  by  referring  to  the  map,  the  reader  will 
see  that  after  our  long,  irregular,  and  devious  route, 
we  are  at  this  moment  but  four  leagues  from  Ti- 
cul,  and  but  eleven  from  Uxmal  by  the  road  of  the 
country,  while  the  distance  is  much  less  in  a 
straight  line. 

Among  the  wonders  unfolded  by  the  discovery  of 
these  ruined  cities,  what  made  the  strongest  impres- 
sion on  our  minds  was  the  fact  that  their  immense 
population  existed  in  a  region  so  scantily  supplied 
with  water.  Throughout  the  whole  country  there 
is  no  stream,  or  spring,  or  living  fountain,  and,  but  for 


SCANTY    SUPPLY    OF  WATER. 


255 


the  extraordinary  caves  and  hollows  in  the  rocks  from 
which  the  inhabitants  at  this  day  drink,  they  must 
have  been  entirely  dependant  upon  artificial  fount- 
ains, and  literally  upon  the  rain  that  came  down  from 
heaven.  But  on  this  point  there  is  one  important 
consideration.  The  aborigines  of  this  country  had 
no  horses,  or  cattle,  or  large  domestic  animals,  and 
the  supply  required  for  the  use  of  man  only  was 
comparatively  small.  Perhaps  at  this  day,  with 
different  wants  and  habits,  the  same  country  would 
not  support  the  same  amount  of  population.  And, 
besides,  the  Indian  now  inhabiting  that  dry  and 
thirsty  region  illustrates  the  effect  of  continual  scar- 
city, habit,  and  training,  in  subduing  the  appetites. 
Water  is  to  him,  as  to  the  Arab  of  the  Desert,  a 
scarce  and  precious  commodity.  When  he  puts 
down  the  load  from  his  back,  his  body  streaming 
with  perspiration,  a  few  sips  of  water  dipped  up  in 
the  palm  of  his  hand  from  a  hollow  rock  suffice  to 
quench  his  thirst.  Still,  under  any  circumstances, 
the  sources  of  supply  present  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting features  connected  with  the  discovery  of 
these  ruined  cities,  and  go  to  confirm  behef  in  the 
vast  numbers  and  power,  as  w^ell  as  the  laborious 
industry  of  the  ancient  inhabitants. 

It  was  late  on  Saturday  afternoon  when  we 
reached  Mani.  The  guarda  of  Indians  had  served 
their  term  of  a  week  in  attendance  at  the  casa  real, 
and  were  now  retiring  from  office,  as  usual  all  in- 
toxicated, but  we  got  a  large  room  swept  out,  had  it 


256 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


furnished  with  chairs  and  tables,  and  our  hammocks 
hung  up  ;  and  here,  amid  the  wrecks  of  cities,  we 
were  almost  in  ruins  ourselves.  Before  resorting  to 
our  hammocks  we  made  an  important  and  touching 
discovery,  which  was  that  we  had  but  one  clean 
camisa  between  us  ;  and  if  the  reader  knew  the  ex- 
tent of  our  travelling  wardrobe,  he  would,  perhaps,  be 
somewhat  astonished  that  we  had  that.  Neverthe- 
less, the  discovery  perplexed  us.  The  next  day 
was  Sunday  ;  all  the  village  would  appear  in  clean 
clothes  ;  it  was  mortifying  that  we  could  not  do  so 
too,  and,  besides,  w^e  had  some  httle  feehng  on  the 
score  of  personal  comfort.  In  Europe,  with  a  frock- 
coat  buttoned  tight  across  the  breast,  black  stock, 
and  one  pair  of  pantaloons,  hat,  and  boots,  the  trav- 
eller is  independent  of  the  world,  but  not  so  under 
the  hot  sun  of  Yucatan.  We  sent  Albino  out  to 
look  for  supplies,  but  he  returned  unsuccessful, 
though  he  did  succeed  in  making  a  bargain  with  a 
woman  to  wash  an  entire  change  for  us  the  next 
day ;  but  she  could  hardly  be  made  to  understand 
that  stockings  and  sheets  were  included  in  a  change. 


BUYING    A  WARDROBE. 


257 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Buying-  a  Wardrobe. — Crowd  of  Loungers. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — 
A  long  Edifice  built  by  the  Spaniards. — Interesting  Well. — In- 
dian Legend. — The  Mother  of  the  Dwarf. — Exploration  of  the 
Well. — Remains  of  large  Mounds. — Cogolludo. — Ancient  and 
curious  Painting. — Books  and  ancient  Characters  of  the  Indians 
burned  by  the  Spaniards. — Archives  of  Mani. — Important  Doc- 
uments.— Ancient  Map. — Instrument  endorsed  on  its  Back.  — 
Important  Bearing  of  these  Documents. — What  was  Uxmal? — 
Argument. —  No  Vestiges  of  a  Spanish  Town  at  Uxmal. — 
Churches  erected  by  the  Spaniards  in  all  their  Settlements. — 
No  Indications  of  a  Church  at  Uxmal. — Conclusions. — Suspi- 
cions of  the  People. — Church  and  Convent. — Extensive  View 
from  the  Top  of  the  Church. 

Early  in  the  morning  Albino  was  in  quest  of  some 
gentleman  who  might  have  a  spare  camisa  and  pan- 
taloons which  he  would  be  willing  to  part  with,  and, 
by  one  of  those  rare  pieces  of  good  luck  that  some- 
times illuminate  the  path  of  a  traveller,  he  procured 
both,  the  latter  having  an  elegantly  embroidered  bo- 
som, which  fell  to  Doctor  Cabot ;  and,  with  my 
cast-off  blouse,  which  was  in  better  condition  than 
his,  and  a  thin  frock-coat,  that  considered  itself  cast- 
off  some  time  before,  for  myself,  we  were  able  to 
make  a  dashing  appearance  in  the  streets. 

Notwithstanding  our  perplexities,  I  had  an  un- 
common degree  of  satisfaction  at  waking  up  in 

Vol.  IL— K  k 


258 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Mani.  I  had  heard  of  this  place  on  my  first  visit  to 
Uxmal,  of  rehcs  and  heirlooms  in  the  hands  of  the 
cacique,  and  of  ruins,  which,  however,  we  were  ad- 
vised were  not  worth  visiting.  The  morning,  nev- 
ertheless, did  not  open  with  much  promise.  On 
first  emerging  we  found  about  the  door  of  the  casa 
real  a  crowd  of  loungers,  of  that  mixed  race  who 
might  trace  their  ancestry  to  the  subjects  of  Tutul 
Xiu  and  the  conquerors,  possessing  all  the  bad  qual- 
ities of  both,  and  but  few  of  the  good  traits  of  either. 
Some  of  them  were  intoxicated,  and  there  were 
many  half-grown,  impudent  boys,  who  kept  close 
to  us,  watching  every  movement,  and  turning  aside 
to  laugh  when  they  could  do  so  unobserved. 

We  set  out  to  look  at  the  ruins,  and  the  crowd 
followed  at  our  heels.  At  the  end  of  a  street  lead- 
ing to  the  well  we  saw  a  long  building,  pierced  in 
the  middle  by  the  street,  and  part  still  standing  on 
each  side.  We  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  was  not  the 
work  of  the  antiguos,  but  had  been  erected  by  the 
Spaniards  since  the  conquest,  and  yet  we  were  con- 
ducted to  it  as  one  of  the  same  class  with  those  we 
had  found  all  over  the  country  ;  though  we  did  meet 
with  one  intelligent  person,  who  smiled  at  the  igno- 
rance of  the  people,  and  said  that  it  was  a  palace  of 
El  Rey,  or  the  king,  Montejo.  Its  true  history  is 
perhaps  as  much  unknown  as  that  of  the  more  an- 
cient buildings.  In  its  tottering  front  were  inter- 
spersed sculptured  stones  taken  from  the  aboriginal 
edifices,  and  thus,  in  its  own  decay,  it  pubhshes  the 


AN    INTERESTING    WELL.  259 

sad  Story  that  it  had  risen  upon  the  ruins  of  anoth- 
er race. 

Near  this  building,  and  at  the  corner  of  the  street, 
is  the  well  referred  to  in  the  conclusion  of  my  le- 
gend of  the  House  of  the  Dwarf  at  Uxmal.  "  The 
old  woman  (the  mother  of  the  Dwarf)  then  died, 
but  at  the  Indian  village  of  Mani  there  is  a  deep 
well,  from  which  opens  a  cave  that  leads  under 
ground  an  immense  distance  to  Merida.  In  this 
cave,  on  the  bank  of  a  stream,  under  the  shade 
of  a  large  tree,  sits  an  old  woman,  with  a  serpent  by 
her  side,  who  sells  water  in  small  quantities,  not  for 
money,  but  only  for  a  criatura,  or  baby,  to  give  the 
serpent  to  eat ;  and  this  old  woman  is  the  mother 
of  the  Dwarf"  The  entrance  to  the  well  was  un- 
der a  great  shelf  of  overhanging  rock,  forming  the 
mouth  of  a  magnificent  cavern,  wild  enough  to  sus- 
tain the  legend.  The  roof  was  high,  and  the  villa- 
gers had  constructed  steps,  by  which,  walking  erect, 
we  reached  a  large  pool  of  water,  whence  women 
were  filling  their  cantaros.  At  one  side  was  an  open- 
ing in  the  rock  above,  which  should  have  been,  and 
was  intended  to  be,  made  directly  over  the  water, 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  it  up  in  buckets;  and  as 
this  mistake  occurred  in  a  cave  where  the  water  is 
but  a  short  distance  from  the  mouth,  and  the  pas- 
sage is  wide,  it  shows  the  difficulty,  without  any 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  instruments,  of  fixing  on 
the  surface  the  precise  point  over  the  water  in  the 
other  caves,  which  have  long,  narrow,  and  winding 
passages. 


260  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

In  the  yards  of  some  houses  on  a  street  at  the 
rear  of  the  casa  real  were  the  remains  of  large 
mounds.  In  the  wall  round  the  square  of  the  church 
was  a  large  circular  upright  stone,  like  those  here- 
tofore called  picotes,  or  whipping-posts,  and  our 
guide  told  us  that  in  the  suburbs  there  were  other 
mounds ;  but,  without  leaving  the  streets,  we  saw 
enough  to  satisfy  us  that  Mani  stood  on  the  site  of 
an  ancient  town  of  the  same  general  character  with 
all  the  others. 

Returning  to  the  casa  real,  we  found  a  new  guar- 
da,  who  came  into  office  rather  more  intoxicated 
than  their  predecessors  in  going  out.  Albino  had 
inquired  of  the  cacique  for  the  ancient  relics  of 
which  we  had  heard  accounts,  and  the  Indians 
brought  a  copy  of  Cogolludo,  wrapped  up  and  treas- 
ured with  great  care  in  the  casa  real.  This  did  not 
astonish  us  much,  and  they  opened  the  book  and 
pointed  out  a  picture,  the  only  one  in  it,  being  a 
representation  of  the  murder  of  the  ambassadors  of 
Tutul  Xiu ;  and  while  we  were  looking  at  it  they 
brought  out  and  unrolled  on  the  floor  an  old  paint- 
ing on  cotton  cloth,  being  the  original  from  which 
Cogolludo  had  the  engraving  made.  The  design 
was  a  coat  of  arms  bordered  with  the  heads  of  the 
murdered  ambassadors,  one  of  which  has  an  arrow 
fixed  in  the  temple,  intended  to  represent  the  am- 
bassador who  had  his  eyes  put  out  with  this  weap- 
on. In  the  centre  is  a  tree  growing  out  of  a  box, 
representing  the  sapote  tree  at  Zotuta,  under  which 


ANCIENT  PAINTING. 


261 


the  murder  was  committed,  and  which,  the  Indians 
saj,  is  still  standing.  This  tree  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  mention  again  hereafter.  The  painting  had 
evidently  been  executed  by  an  Indian,  and  probably 
very  near  the  time  of  the  occurrence  which  it  was 
intended  to  commemorate.  Cogolludo  refers  to  it 
as  an  ancient  and  interesting  relic  in  his  time,  and, 
of  course,  it  is  much  more  so  now.  It  is  an  object 
of  great  reverence  among  the  Indians  of  Mani.  In 
fact,  throughout  our  w^iole  journeyings,  either  in 
Central  America  or  Yucatan,  it  was  the  first  and 
only  instance  in  which  we  met  with  any  memorial 
in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  tending  to  keep  alive 
the  memory  of  any  event  in  their  history  ;  but  this 
must  not  be  imputed  to  them  as  a  reproach.  His- 
tory, dark  as  it  is  on  other  points,  shows  clearly 
enough  that  this  now  abject  and  degraded  race  did 
cling  with  desperate  and  fatal  tenacity  to  the  mem- 
ory of  those  ancestors  whom  they  know  not  now; 
the  records  of  their  conquerors  show  the  ruthless 
and  savage  policy  pursued  by  the  Spaniards  to  root 
this  memory  from  their  minds ;  and  here,  in  this 
very  town  of  Mani,  we  have  a  dark  and  memorable 
instance. 

In  1571,  twenty-nine  years  after  the  foundation 
of  Merida,  some  Indians  of  Mani  relapsed  and  be- 
came idolaters,  practising  in  secret  their  ancient 
rites. 

Intelligence  of  their  backsliding  reached  the  ears 
of  the  provincial  in  Merida,  who  came  to  Mani  in 


262  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

person,  and  forthwith  estabUshed  hhnself  as  inquisi- 
tor. Some  who  had  died  obstinately  in  the  secret 
practice  of  idolatrous  rites  had  been  buried  in  sacred 
ground;  he  ordered  their  bodies  to  be  dug  up,  and 
their  bones  thrown  into  the  fields ;  and,  in  order  to 
strike  terror  into  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  and  root 
out  the  memory  of  their  ancient  rites,  on  a  day  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose,  attended  by  the  principal 
of  the  Spanish  nobility,  and  in  the  presence  of  a 
great  multitude  of  Indians,  he  made  them  bring  to- 
gether all  their  books  and  ancient  characters,  and 
pubhcly  burned  them,  thus  destroying  at  once  the 
history  of  their  antiquities.  Those  envious  of  the 
blessed  father,  says  the  historian,  gave  him  the  title 
of  cruel ;  but  very  differently  thought  of  the  action 
the  Doctor  Don  Pedro  Sanchez  de  Aguilar,  in  his 
information  against  the  idolaters  of  this  country. 

The  sight  of  this  painting  made  me  more  earnest 
in  pushing  my  inquiries  for  other  memorials,  but 
this  was  all ;  the  Indians  had  no  more  to  show,  and 
I  then  inquired  of  the  alcalde  for  ancient  archives. 
He  knew  nothing  about  them,  but  said  we  could 
examine  for  ourselves,  and  the  key  of  the  apartment 
in  which  they  were  kept  was  with  the  second  al- 
calde. 

The  schoolmaster  of  the  village,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  letter  in  our  behalf  from  our  friend  the 
cura  Carillo  of  Ticul,  accompanied  me  to  look  for 
the  second  alcalde,  and,  after  tracing  him  to  several 
places,  we  procured  the  keys,  and  returned  to  the 


ARCHIVES    OF    MAN  I. 


263 


casa  real,  and  when  we  unlocked  the  door  we  had 
thh'tj  or  forty  persons  to  enter  with  us.  The  books 
and  archives  of  the  municipality  were  in  the  back 
room,  and  among  them  was  one  large  volume  which 
had  an  ancient  and  venerable  appearance,  being  bound 
in  parchment,  tattered,  and  worm-eaten,  and  having  a 
flap  to  close  like  that  of  a  pocket-book.  Unhappily, 
it  was  written  in  the  Maya  language,  and  perfectly 
unintelligible.  The  dates,  however,  showed  that  these 
venerable  pages  were  a  record  of  events  w^hich  had 
taken  place  within  a  very  few  years  after  the  entry 
of  the  Spaniards  into  the  country ;  and  as  I  pored 
over  them,  I  w^as  strongly  impressed  with  the  belief 
that  directly,  or  in  some  incidental  expressions,  they 
contained  matter  which  might  throw  some  light 
upon  the  subject  of  my  investigations. 

Being  Sunday,  a  crowd  of  curious  and  lazy  look- 
ers-on surrounded  the  table,  but  they  could  not  dis- 
tract my  attention.  I  found  that,  though  all  could 
speak  the  Maya,  none  could  read  it.  Nevertheless, 
I  continued  to  turn  over  the  pages.  On  the  157th 
page,  in  a  document  which  bore  the  date  of  1557, 
I  saw  the  word  Vxmal.  Here  I  stopped,  and  called 
upon  the  by-standers.  The  schoolmaster  was  the 
only  one  who  could  even  attempt  to  give  me  any 
assistance,  but  he  was  not  familiar  with  the  Maya 
as  a  written  tongue,  and  said  that  this,  having  been 
written  nearly  three  hundred  years  before,  differed 
somewhat  from  that  of  the  present  day,  and  was 
more  difficult  to  comprehend.    Other  places  were 


264 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


referred  to  in  the  document,  the  names  of  which 
were  famihar  to  me,  and  I  observed  that  the  words 
immediately  preceding  Vxmal  were  different  from 
those  preceding  the  other  names.  The  presump- 
tion was  that  Uxmal  was  referred  to  in  some  differ- 
ent sense. 

In  turning  to  the  end  of  the  document  I  found  a 
sheet  of  foolscap  paper,  which  had  been  secured  in 
the  book,  but  was  then  loose ;  and  upon  it  was  a 
curious  map,  also  dated  in  1557,  of  which  Mani 
was  the  centre.  Vxmal  was  laid  down  upon  it, 
and  indicated  by  a  peculiar  sign,  different  from  that 
of  all  the  other  places  named.  On  the  back  of  the 
map  was  endorsed  a  long  instrument  of  the  same 
date,  in  which  the  word  Vx^nal  again  occurred,  and 
which,  beyond  doubt,  contained  matter  relating  to 
other  places  named  in  the  map,  and  to  their  con- 
dition or  state  of  being  at  that  time.  With  the  as- 
sistance of  the  schoolmaster  I  compared  this  with 
the  one  written  in  the  book,  and  ascertained  that 
the  latter  was  a  recorded  copy  of  the  other. 

A  few  pages  beyond  was  another  document,  bear- 
ing date  in  1556,  one  year  earlier,  and  in  this, 
again,  the  word  Vxmal  appeared.  The  schoolmas- 
ter was  able  to  give  me  some  general  idea  of  the 
contents,  but  he  could  not  translate  with  facility, 
nor,  as  he  said,  very  accurately.  The  alcalde  sent 
for  an  Indian  escribano,  or  clerk,  of  the  municipal- 
ity ;  but  he  was  not  in  the  village,  and  an  old  In- 
dian was  brought  who  had  formerly  served  in  that 


I 


Mani  28  ileMarzo  de  W4Z.  i 


ii  INDIAN   MAP^  ! 

!!  I 

!j  To  ftJ^e p,7//^  26o.V:>h.Z.  jj 

'  Charles  Copteu,  ScJ7.T. 


ANCIENT    MAP    OF    MAN  I. 


265 


capacity ;  but,  after  staring  stupidly  at  the  pages  as 
if  looking  at  a  row  of  machetes,  he  said  he  had 
grown  so  old  that  he  had  forgotten  how  to  read. 
My  only  course  was  to  have  copies  made,  which 
the  schoolmaster  set  about  immediately,  and  late  in 
the  afternoon  he  placed  them  in  my  hands.  In  the 
evening,  by  the  permission  of  the  alcalde,  I  took 
the  book  to  my  quarters,  and  looked  over  every 
page,  running  my  finger  along  every  line,  in  search 
of  the  word  Uxmal,  but  I  did  not  meet  with  it  in 
any  other  place,  and  probably  the  documents  refer- 
red to  are  the  most  ancient,  if  not  the  only  ones  in 
existence  of  ancient  date,  in  which  that  name  is 
mentioned. 

The  copies  I  carried  with  me  to  my  friend  Don 
Pio  Perez,  who  discovered  some  errors,  and,  at 
his  instance,  my  good  friend  the  cura  Carillo  went 
over  to  Mani,  and  made  exact  copies  of  the  map 
and  documents.  He  also  made  diligent  search 
through  the  Maya  archives  for  other  papers  men- 
tioning Uxmal,  or  referring  to  it  in  any  way,  but 
found  none.  He  added  to  his  copies  a  translation, 
which  was  revised  by  Don  Pio,  and  it  is  from  his 
version  that  what  follows  is  prepared. 

The  engraving  opposite  is  a  copy  of  the  ancient 
map,  the  original  of  which  covers  one  side  of  a 
sheet  of  foolscap  paper. 

The  instrument  endorsed  on  the  back,  as  trans- 
lated, reads  as  follows  ; 

"  Memorandum  of  having  divided  the  lands  by 

Vol.  n.— L  l  23 


266 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


D.  Francisco  Montejo  Xiu,  governor  of  this  pueblo 
of  Mani,  and  the  governors  of  the  pueblos  who  are 
under  him. 

"  There  met  together  Don  Francisco  Montejo 
Xiu,  governor  of  this  pueblo,  and  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  Tutul  Xiu  ;  Don  Francisco  Che,  governor  of 
Ticul,  Don  Francisco  Pacab,  governor  of  Ox- 
cutzcab,  Don  Diego  Vs,  governor  of  Tekax,  Don 
Alonzo  Pacab,  governor  of  Jan-monal,  Don  Juan 
Che,  governor  of  Mama,  Don  Alonzo  Xiu,  gov- 
ernor of  Tekit,  and  the  other  governors  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Mani,  together  with  the  regidores,  for 
the  purpose  of  regulating  the  landmarks,  and  main- 
taining the  right  of  each  village  respecting  the  fell- 
ing of  trees,  and  to  fix  and  settle  with  crosses  the 
boundaries  of  the  milpas  of  their  respective  villages, 
dividing  them  into  parts  according  to  their  situation, 
showing  the  lands  pertaining  to  each.  The  people 
of  Canul,  those  of  Acanceh,  of  Ticoh,  those  of 
Cosuma,  those  of  Zotuta  and  its  jurisdiction,  those 
of  Tixcacab,  a  part  of  those  of  Peto,  Colotmul,  and 
Zuccacab,  after  having  conferred  together,  declared 
it  necessary  to  cite  the  governors  of  the  villages,  and 
we  answered  that  they  should  come  to  this  audien- 
cia  of  Mani,  each  one  bringing  with  him  two  regi- 
dores to  be  present  at  the  division  of  the  lands. 
Don  Juan  Canul,  governor  of  Nunkini,  and  Fran- 
cisco Ci,  his  colleague ;  D.  Juan  Cocom,  governor 
of  Ticoh,  D.  Caspar  Tun  of  Cosuma,  Don  Juan 
Cocom,  governor  of  Sotuta,  D.  Gpnzalo  Tuyn, 


IMPORTANT  DOCUMENTS. 


267 


governor  of  Tixcacab,  D.  Juan  Han  of  Yaxcacab; 
these  received  the  donation  on  the  fifth  day  from 
Merida,  consisting  of  one  hundred  '  paties'  of  fine 
sheets,  each  pati  or  cotton  cloth,  and  thus  they  con- 
tinued receiving  by  twenties  for  a  beginning,  being 
rolled  up  by  Juan  Nic,  Pedro  May,  and  Pedro  Co- 
ba,  assembled  in  the  house  of  Don  Francisco  Mon- 
tejo  Xiu,  governor  of  the  village  of  Mani ;  three 
arrobas  of  wax,  which  were  sold  by  them,  Don 
Juan  Cocom  of  Zotuta  having  first  received  them. 
In  Talchaquillo,  on  the  road  to  Merida,  toward  the 
north  of  said  village,  the  cross  was  planted,  and  called 
Hoal.  In  Sacmuyalna  they  put  a  cross  ;  this  is  the 
limit  of  the  lands  of  those  of  Ticoh.  In  Kochilha 
a  cross  was  placed.  In  Cisinil,  Toyotha,  Chulul 
Ytza,  Ocansip,  and  Tiphal,  crosses  were  placed  ; 
this  is  the  boundary  of  the  milpas  and  the  lands  of 
those  of  Maxcanu-al  Canules.  In  Kaxabceh  Chac- 
nocac,  Calam,  Sactos,  are  the  limits  of  the  fields  of 
the  Canules,  and  there  crosses  were  placed.  In 
Zemesahal  and  in  Opal  were  planted  crosses  :  these 
are  the  limits  of  the  grounds  of  the  villagers  of  Kil- 
hini  and  Becal.  In  Yaxche  Sucilha  Xcalchen, 
Tehico  Sahcabchen  Xbacal,  Opichen,  crosses  were 
planted.  Twenty-two  is  the  number  of  the  places 
marked,  and  they  returned  to  raise  new  landmarks, 
by  the  command  of  the  judge,  Felipe  Manriques, 
specially  commissioned  by  his  excellency  the  gov- 
ernor, when  he  arrived  at  Uxmal,  accompanied  by 
his  interpreter,  Gaspar  Antonio,"  &c.  The  rest  of 
this  document  I  omit. 


268 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  Other  document  begins  as  follows :  "  On 
the  tenth  of  August,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  fifty-six,  the  special  judge  arrived  with 
his  interpreter,  Gaspar  Kntomo,  from  Vxmal,  when 
they  reached  this  chief  village  of  Mani,  with  the 
other  caciques  that  followed  them,  Don  Francisco 
Che,  governor  of  Ticul,  Don  Francisco  Pacab,  gov- 
ernor of  Tekax,  Don  Alonzo  Pacab,  governor  of 
Jan,  Don  Juan  Che,  governor  of  Mama,  Don  Alon- 
zo Xiu,  governor  of  Tekit,  with  the  other  govern- 
ors of  his  suite,  Don  Juan  Cacom,  governor  of  Te- 
koh,  with  Don  Gaspar  Fun,  Don  Juan  Camal,  gov- 
ernor of  Nunhini,  Don  Francisco  Ciz,  other  gov- 
ernor of  Cosuma,  Don  Juan  Cocom,  governor  of 
Zotuta,  Don  Gonzalo  Fuyu,  governor  of  Tixcacal- 
tuyu,  Don  Juan  Han,  governor  of  Yaxcaba ;  those 
were  brought  to  this  chief  village  of  Mani  from  Vx- 
mal,  with  the  others  named,  and  the  judge  Felipe 
Manrique,  with  Gaspar  Antonio,  commissioned  in- 
terpreter." Of  this,  too,  the  rest  is  omitted,  not  be- 
ing relevant  to  this  subject. 

The  reader  will  observe  that,  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  after  the  foundation  of  Merida,  Mani  had  the 
same  pre-eminence  of  position  as  when  Tutul  Xiu 
went  up  with  his  dependant  caciques  to  make  sub- 
mission to  the  Spaniards.  It  was  the  "  chief  vil- 
lage," the  central  point  for  meeting  and  settling  the 
boundaries  of  villages ;  but  it  appears,  on  the  face 
of  these  documents,  that  great  changes  had  already 
occurred.    In  fact,  even  at  that  early  date  we  see 


BEARING    OF    THESE    DOCUMENTS.  269 

the  entering  wedge,  which,  since  driven  to  its  mark, 
has  overturned  all  the  institutions  and  destroyed  for- 
ever the  national  character  of  the  aboriginal  inhab- 
itants. The  Indians  are  still  rulers  over  their  vil- 
lages, and  meet  to  settle  their  boundary  lines,  but 
they  meet  under  the  direction  of  Don  Felipe  Man- 
riques,  a  Spanish  officer,  specially  commissioned  for 
that  purpose  ;  they  establish  their  boundaries  by 
planting  crosses,  symbols  introduced  by  the  Span- 
iards ;  they  have  lost  their  proud  and  independent 
national  title  of  cacique,  and  are  styled  Dons  and 
Gohernadores ;  under  the  gentle  patting  of  the  hand 
destined  soon  to  crush  their  race,  they  have  aban- 
doned even  the  names  received  from  their  fathers, 
and  have  adopted,  either  voluntarily  or  by  coercion, 
the  Christian  names  of  the  Spaniards ;  and  the 
Lord  of  Mani  himself,  the  hneal  descendant  of  the 
royal  house  of  Maya,  either  that  same  Tutul  Xiu 
who  first  submitted  himself  and  his  vassals  to  the 
dominion  of  Don  Francisco  Montejo,  or  his  imme- 
diate descendant,  in  compliment  to  the  conqueror 
and  destroyer  of  his  race,  appears  meekly  and  in- 
gloriously  under  the  name  of  Don  Francisco  Xiu. 

But  it  is  not  for  the  sake  of  this  melancholy  tale 
that  I  have  introduced  these  documents  ;  they  have 
another  and  a  more  important  bearing.  By  this 
act  of  partition  it  appears  that,  in  1557,  the 
judge  arrived  at  JJxmal,  accompanied  by  his  inter- 
preter Don  Antonio  Gaspar."  And  by  the  agree- 
ment it  appears  that  in  1556,  one  year  previous,  the 


270  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

special  judge  arrived  with  his  interpreter,  Caspar 
Knitomo,  from  Uxmal,  when  they  reached  the  chief 
village  of  Mani  with  the  other  caciques  who  follow- 
ed them.  The  names  are  all  given,  and  it  is  said 
these  "  were  brought  to  this  chief  village  of  Mani 
fi'07n  Uxmal,  with  the  others  named,  and  the  judge 
Felipe  Manrique  and  Caspar  Antonio,  commissioned 
interpreter." 

Now  what  was  Uxmal  I  It  is  clear,  beyond  all 
question,  that  it  was  a  place  at  which  persons  could 
arrive,  at  which  they  could  be,  and  from  which  they 
could  come.  I  am  safe  in  supposing  that  it  was  not 
a  mere  hacienda,  for  at  that  early  period  of  the  con- 
quest haciendas  had  not  begun  to  be  established ; 
and,  besides,  the  title  papers  of  Don  Simon  Peon 
show^  that  the  first  grant  of  it  was  made  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  hacienda  one  hundred  and  forty-four  or 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  years  afterward,  at  which 
time  the  land  was  waste  and  belonged  to  the  crown, 
and  had  small  settlements  of  Indians  upon  it,  who 
were  publicly  and  notoriously  worshipping  the  devil 
in  the  ancient  buildings.  It  was  not,  then,  a  hacien- 
da. Was  it  a  Spanish  town  ?  If  so,  some  remains 
would  have  been  visible  at  the  time  of  the  grant, 
and  the  great  object  of  driving  away  the  Indians 
and  breaking  up  their  idolatrous  worship  would  al- 
ready have  been  accomplished.  There  is  no  indi- 
cation, record,  or  tradition  that  a  Spanish  town  was 
ever  established  at  Uxmal ;  the  general  behef  is  that 
there  never  was  any ;  Don  Simon  is  sure  of  it,  and 


WHAT    WAS    UXMAL?  271 

in  that  confidence  I  fully  participate.  But  as  the 
strongest  proof  on  this  point,  I  call  in  this  ancient 
map.  It  is  a  fact  perhaps  more  clearly  established 
than  any  other  in  the  history  of  the  conquest,  that 
in  every  Indian  village  in  w^hich  the  Spaniards  made 
a  settlement,  w^ith  that  strong  rehgious  enthusiasm 
w^hich  formed  so  remarkable  a  feature  in  their  daring 
and  unscrupulous  character,  their  first  act  was  the 
erection  of  a  church.  Now  it  will  be  remarked  that 
nearly  all  the  places  laid  down  on  the  map  are  indi- 
cated by  the  sign  of  a  church  ;  most  of  them  now 
exist,  all  have  aboriginal  names,  and  the  inference 
is  that  they  were  at  that  time  existing  aboriginal 
towns,  in  which  the  Spaniards  had  erected  church- 
es, or  had  taken  the  preliminary  steps  for  doing  so. 
Several  of  these  places  we  had  visited;  we  had 
seen  their  churches  reared  upon  the  ruins  of  ancient 
buildings,  and  in  their  immediate  vicinity  vestiges 
and  extensive  ruins  of  the  same  general  character 
with  those  at  Uxmal. 

But  Uxmal,  it  will  be  seen,  is  not  indicated  by 
the  sign  of  a  church.  This  I  consider  evidence  that 
no  church  was  erected  there,  and  that  while  the 
Spaniards  were  establishing  settlements  in  other  In- 
dian towns,  for  some  reason,  now  unknown,  per- 
haps on  account  of  its  unhealthiness,  at  Uxmal  they 
made  none.  But  it  will  be  seen  farther,  that  Ux- 
mal not  only  is  not  indicated  by  the  sign  of  a  church, 
but  is  indicated  by  one  entirely  different,  of  a  pecu- 
har  and  striking  character,  which  was  manifestly 


272  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

never  adopted  from  caprice  or  w^ithout  cause.  In 
my  opinion,  this  sign  w^as  intended  to  represent  what 
would  most  clearly  distinguish  a  large  place  with- 
out a  church  from  those  in  which  churches  had 
been  erected,  the  characteristic  ornaments  on  the 
fronts  of  the  aboriginal  buildings,  as  now  seen  at 
Uxmal.  It  is  the  same  obvious  character  or  sym- 
bol which  might  serve  at  this  day  to  indicate  on 
a  map  a  city  like  Uxmal,  and  to  my  mind  the  con- 
clusion is  irresistible  that  at  the  time  when  the 
Judge  Don  Felipe  Manriques  arrived  at  Uxmal  and 
arrivedy?'6>m  Uxmal,  it  was  an  existing  inhabited  ab- 
original town.  Farther,  in  the  scanty  light  that  we 
have  on  this  subject,  the  slightest  incidental  circum- 
stance is  not  to  be  disregarded.  In  each  reference  to 
his  arrival  at  or  from  Uxmal,  it  is  mentioned  that  he 
was  accompanied  by  his  interpreter.  He  would  not 
need  an  interpreter  if  the  place  was  desolate,  or  if 
it  was  a  hacienda,  or  a  Spanish  town.  He  could 
need  an  interpreter  only  when  the  place  was  occu- 
pied by  the  aborigines,  whose  language  he  did  not 
understand,  and  such,  I  cannot  help  believing,  was 
actually  the  case.  I  can  easily  beUeve,  too,  that  its 
depopulation  and  desolation  within  the  hundred  and 
forty  years  preceding  the  royal  grant  for  the  purpo- 
ses of  a  hacienda,  were  the  inevitable  consequence 
of  the  policy  pursued  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  sub- 
jugation of  the  country.  I  would  remark  that  there 
is  no  doubt  of  the  authenticity  of  these  documents. 
They  are  true  records  of  events  which  occurred  at 
that  early  period  of  the  conquest.    To  this  day  the 


CHURCH    AND  CONVENT. 


273 


map  and  act  of  partition  are  good  evidence  in  all 
legal  proceedings  affecting  the  title  to  lands  in  that 
neighbourhood,  and  I  afterward  saw  them  enrolled 
as  proofs  and  forming  part  of  the  record  in  a  con- 
tested and  protracted  lawsuit. 

I  make  no  apology  for  dwelling  so  long  upon  this 
ancient  map.  Perhaps,  however,  it  will  not  interest 
the  reader  so  much  as  it  did  ourselves  and  the  half- 
breeds  of  Mani.  These  ascribed  our  curiosity  to  a 
much  less  innocent  motive  than  that  of  investiga- 
ting the  history  of  ancient  cities.  In  consequence 
of  some  recent  difficulties,  los  Ingleses  were  some- 
what objects  of  suspicion ;  the  idlers  of  Mani  made 
close  inquiries  of  Albino  touching  our  reasons  for 
wanting  the  map,  and,  not  being  able  to  compre- 
hend his  explanations,  which  were,  perhaps,  not  very 
clear,  they  said  that  we  intended  to  seek  out  and  seize 
the  strong  points  for  fortifications  ;  and,  with  a  spirit 
unlike  that  of  their  warlike  sires,  Spanish  or  Indian, 
quietly  made  up  their  minds  that  we  intended  to  re- 
duce the  country  and  make  slaves  of  them. 

Toward  evening  we  strolled  over  to  the  church 
and  convent,  which  are  among  the  grandest  of  these 
early  structures  erected  in  Yucatan,  proud  monu- 
ments of  the  zeal  and  labour  of  the  Franciscan  fri- 
ars. They  were  built  under  the  direction  of  Friar 
Juan  of  Merida,  distinguished  as  a  warrior  and  con- 
queror, but  who  threw  aside  the  sword  and  put  on 
the  habit  of  a  monk.  According  to  Cogolludo,  they 
were  both  finished  in  the  short  space  of  seven 

Vol.  II.— M  m 


274 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


months,  the  cacique  who  had  been  lord  of  that 
country  furnishing  six  thousand  Indians.  Built 
upon  the  ruins  of  another  race,  they  are  now  them- 
selves tottering  and  going  to  decay. 

The  convent  had  two  stories,  with  a  great  corri- 
dor all  round ;  but  the  doors  were  broken  and  the 
windows  wide  open,  rain  beat  into  the  rooms,  and 
grass  grew  on  the  floor. 

The  roof  of  the  church  formed  a  grand  prome- 
nade, commanding  an  almost  boundless  view  of  the 
great  region  of  country  of  which  it  was  once  the 
chief  place  and  centre.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
was  visible  the  great  sierra,  running  from  east  to 
west,  a  dark  line  along  the  plain.  All  the  rest  was 
plain,  dotted  only  by  small  clearings  for  villages. 
My  guide  pointed  out  and  named  Tekax,  Akii,  Ox- 
cutzcab,  Schochnoche,  Pustonich,  Ticul,  Jan,  Cha- 
pap.  Mama,  Tipika,  Teab,  the  same  villages  laid 
down  in  the  ancient  map,  whose  caciques  came  up, 
three  hundred  years  before,  to  settle  the  boundaries 
of  their  lands  ;  and  he  told  me  that,  under  a  clearer 
atmosphere,  more  were  visible.  Some  I  had  visited, 
and  had  seen  the  crumbUng  remains  of  the  ancient 
town ;  and  looking  at  them  from  the  roof  of  the 
church,  the  old  map  gave  them  a  vividness,  reaUty, 
and  life,  as  they  had  been  three  hundred  years  be- 
fore, more  exciting  than  the  wildest  speculations  in 
regard  to  lost  and  unknown  races.  The  sun  went 
down,  and  the  gloom  of  night  gathered  over  the 
great  plain,  emblematic  of  the  fortunes  and  the  fate 
of  its  ancient  inhabitants. 


ORNITHOLOGY    OF  YUCATAN. 


275 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Departure  from  Mani. — Ornithology  of  Yucatan. — Discoveries  of 
Doctor  Cabot. — Village  of  Tixmeach. — Peto. — Church  and  Con- 
vent.— News  from  Home. — Don  Pio  Perez. — Indian  Almanac. 
— A  Fragment  of  Maya  Manuscript.  —  Journey  resumed. — 
Taihxiu. — Yaxcala. — Piste. — Arrival  at  Chichen. — First  Sight 
of  the  Ruins. — The  Hacienda. — A  strange  Reception. — Lodg- 
ings.— Situation  of  the  Ruins. — Mr.  Burke. — Magnificent  Ap- 
pearance of  the  Ruins. — Derivation  of  the  Word  Chichen. — Se- 
notes. — Different  from  those  before  presented. — Mischievous 
Boys. — Failure  of  the  Corn  Crop. 

Monday,  March  7.  Before  daylight  the  next 
morning  we  left  Mani. 

Our  present  mode  of  travelling  favoured  Doctor 
Cabot's  particular  objects.  His  best  chance  for  pro- 
curing birds  was  always  on  the  road,  the  time  pass- 
ed at  ruins,  on  account  of  the  density  of  the  woods 
and  underbrush,  being  in  a  great  measure  lost  to 
him.  Yucatan  had  never  before  been  explored  or- 
nithologically ;  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  the  only 
person  who  had  given  any  attention  to  that  branch 
of  its  natural  history,  a  German,  died  in  the  country  ; 
his  collections  were  scattered  and  his  notes  lost. 
Doctor  Cabot's  field  of  operations,  therefore,  was, 
like  our  own,  entirely  new ;  and  our  attention  be- 


276  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

ing  constantly  directed  to  the  brilliant  plumage  of 
the  birds  and  their  interesting  habits,  they  became 
identified  with  the  purposes  of  our  journey.  It  was 
my  intention  to  obtain  from  Doctor  Cabot,  and  pub- 
lish in  this  work,  a  full  essay  on  the  ornithology  of 
the  country,  but  I  find  my  materials  so  abundant 
and  my  volumes  growing  to  such  a  bulk  that  com- 
pression has  become  a  work  of  serious  necessity. 

Doctor  Cabot  has  published,  in  the  Boston  Jour- 
nal of  Natural  History,  an  account  of  his  observa- 
tions upon  one  rare  and  splendid  bird,  the  ocellated 
turkey,  of  which  one  stuffed  specimen  at  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes,  and  another  in  the  collection  of  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  are  the  only  two  known  to  exist,  and 
of  which,  besides  obtaining  a  stuffed  specimen,  we 
succeeded  in  transporting  two  living  birds  from  the 
interior,  and  embarking  them  for  home,  but  lost 
them  overboard  on  the  voyage.  I  have  hopes  that 
he  may  be  induced  to  publish  a  full  account  of  his 
observations  upon  the  ornithology  of  Yucatan.  In 
the  mean  time  I  give  in  the  Appendix  a  memoran- 
dum of  about  one  hundred  birds  observed  by  him  in 
that  country,  which  are  also  found  within  the  United 
States,  and  have  been  figured  and  described  by 
Wilson,  Bonaparte,  Audubon,  and  Nuttall ;  of  oth- 
ers, which  are  well  known  to  the  scientific  world 
for  their  striking  brilhancy  of  plumage,  having  been 
observed  in  different  parts  of  South  and  Central 
America,  but  are  known  only  by  skins  prepared  and 
sold  in  the  country,  and  whose  habits  have  never 


TlXMEACH.  PETO.  277 

been  described ;  and  a  third  class,  more  important 
to  the  naturalist  than  either  of  the  others,  compri- 
sing birds  entirely  unknown  until  discovered  by  him 
in  Yucatan.  The  memorandum  is  accompanied 
by  a  few  notes  referring  to  the  places  and  circum- 
stances under  which  they  were  procured ;  and  in 
referring  to  them  in  the  Appendix,  I  would  take 
occasion  to  say  that  some  of  the  most  really  import- 
ant matter  in  this  work  is  to  be  found  in  that  place, 
for  the  sake  of  which  I  have  considered  it  expedi- 
ent materially  to  abridge  my  narrative. 

But  to  resume.  We  stopped  that  night  at  Tix- 
meach,  eight  leagues  distant,  a  neat  village  with  a 
well  one  hundred  and  forty-four  feet  deep,  at  which 
every  woman  drawing  from  it  left  a  handful  of  maize 
for  a  cantaro  of  w^ater,  and  we  paid  a  medio  for  wa- 
tering our  horses ;  and  setting  out  before  daylight 
the  next  morning,  at  half  past  nine  we  reached 
Peto,  where  we  found  Mr.  Catherwood  and  our 
luggage  on  the  hands  of  our  friend  Don  Pio  Perez. 

Peto  is  the  head  of  a  department,  of  which  Pon 
Pio  Perez  was  gefe  politico.  It  was  a  weli-built 
town,  with  streets  indicated,  as  at  Merida,  by  figures 
on  the  tops  of  the  houses.  The  churcb  and  con- 
vent were  large  and  imposing  edifices,  and  the  living 
of  the  cura  one  of  the  most  valuable  in  the  church, 
being  worth  six  or  seven  thousand  dollars  per  an- 
num. 

At  this  place  we  found  letters  and  packets  of 
newspapers  from  home,  forwarded  to  us  from  Meri- 

24 


278 


INCIDENTS    OP  TRAVEL. 


da,  and,  except  attending  to  them,  our  time  was  de- 
voted almost  exclusively  to  long  and  interesting  con- 
versations with  Don  Pio  on  matters  connected  with 
the  antiquities  of  the  country.  I  cannot  sufficiently 
express  my  obligations  to  this  gentleman  for  the 
warm  interest  he  took  in  facilitating  our  pursuits,  and 
for  the  labour  he  bestowed  ungrudgingly  in  our  be- 
half. Besides  preparing  a  series  of  verbal  forms  and 
other  illustrations  of  the  grammar  of  the  Maya  lan- 
guage, according  to  memoranda  made  by  the  same 
distinguished  gentleman  before  referred  to,  he  gave 
me  a  vocabulary  in  manuscript,  containing  more  than 
four  thousand  Maya  words,  and  an  almanac,  prepar- 
ed by  himself,  according  to  the  Indian  system  of 
computation,  for  the  year  from  the  16th  of  July,  1841, 
to  the  15th  of  July,  1842,  a  translation  of  which  is 
pubUshed  in  the  Appendix,  as  a  key  or  supplement 
to  his  calendar."^ 

Besides  these,  he  furnished  me  with  the  copy  of  ^ 
one  other  document,  which,  if  genuine  and  authen- 
tic, throws  more  light  upon  aboriginal  history  than 
any  other  known  to  be  in  existence.  It  is  a  frag- 
ment Oi  a  Maya  manuscript,  written  from  memory 
by  an  Indian,  at  some  time  not  designated,  and  en- 
titled "  Principal  epochs  of  the  ancient  history  of 
Yucatan." 

It  purports  to  give  the  series  of  "  katunes,"  or 
epochs,  from  the  tiaie  of  the  departure  of  the  Tol- 
tecs  from  the  country  of  Tulapan  until  their  arrival 
at  this,  as  it  is  called,  island  of  Chacno-uitan,  occu- 

*  See  Appendix  to  vol.  i. 


MAYA    MANUSCRIPT.  279 

pying,  according  to  Don  Pio's  comput^^n  of  ka- 
tunes,  the  lapse  of  time  corresponding  with  that  be- 
tween the  years  144  and  217  of  the  Christian  era. 

It  assigns  dates  to  the  discovery  of  Bacalar  and 
then  of  Chichen  Itza,  both  within  the  three  epochs 
corresponding  with  the  time  between  A.D.  360  and 
A.D.  432 ;  the  colonization  of  Champoton,  and 
its  destruction  ;  the  times  of  wandering  through 
the  uninhabited  forests,  and  establishing  themselves 
a  second  time  at  Chichen  Itza,  within  epochs  cor- 
responding with  the  lapse  between  A.D.  888  and 
A.D.  936. 

The  epoch  of  the  colonization  of  Uxmal,  corre- 
sponding with  the  years  between  A.D.  936  and  1176 
A.D. ;  the  epochs  of  wars  between  the  governors  of 
Chichen  Itza  and  Mayapan ;  the  destruction  of  the 
latter  city  by  the  Uitzes  of  the  Sierras,  or  highland- 
ers ;  and  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  adding  that 
"Holy  men  from  the  East  came  with  them  ;"  and  the 
manuscript  terminates  with  the  epoch  of  the  first 
baptism  and  the  arrival  of  the  first  bishop. 

I  shall  make  no  comment  upon  the  subject  mat- 
ter of  this  manuscript.  How  far  it  is  to  be  regard- 
ed as  authentic  I  am  not  able  to  say,  but  as  the  only 
known  manuscript  in  existence  that  purports  to  be 
written  by  an  Indian  in  his  native  language,  giving 
an  account  of  the  events  in  the  ancient  history  of 
this  country,  I  pubhsh  it  entire  in  the  Appendix. 
It  may  conflict  in  some  particulars  with  opinions 


280 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


expressed  by  me,  but  I  consider  the  discovery  of  the 
truth  on  this  subject  as  far  more  important  than  the 
confirmation  of  any  theory  of  my  own  ;  and  I  may 
add  that,  in  general,  it  bears  out  and  sustains  the 
views  presented  in  these  pages. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  of  March  we  bade 
farewell  to  Don  Pio  Perez,  and  set  out  for  Chichen. 
Ever  since  we  left  home  we  had  had  our  eyes  upon 
this  place.  We  had  become  eager  to  reach  it,  and 
the  increasing  bulk  of  these  volumes  warns  me  that 
I  must  not  now  linger  on  the  road.  I  shall  there- 
fore barely  say  that  the  first  night  we  stopped  at 
•  the  village  of  Taihxiu,  the  second  at  Yaxcaba,  and 
at  noon  of  the  third  day  we  reached  Piste,  about 
two  miles  distant  from  Chichen.  We  had  heard 
some  unpropitious  accounts  concerning  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  proprietor  of  the  hacienda,  and  thought 
it  safer  not  to  alarm  him  by  going  upon  him  with 
appetites  sharpened  by  a  hard  day's  ride,  but  first  to 
lay  the  village  under  a  moderate  contribution. 

At  four  o'clock  we  left  Piste,  and  very  soon 
we  saw  rising  high  above  the  plain  the  Castillo 
of  Chichen.  In  half  an  hour  we  were  among 
the  ruins  of  this  ancient  city,  with  all  the  great 
buildings  in  full  view,  casting  prodigious  shadows 
over  the  plain,  and  presenting  a  spectacle  which, 
even  after  all  that  we  had  seen,  once  more  exci- 
ted in  us  emotions  of  wonder.  The  camino  real 
ran  through  the  midst  of  them,  and  the  field  was  so 
open  that,  without  dismounting,  we  rode  close  in 


ARRIVAL    AT    CHICKEN.  281 

to  some  of  the  principal  edifices.  Involuntarily  we 
lingered,  but  night  was  approaching,  and,  fairly 
dragging  ourselves  away,  we  rode  on,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  reached  the  hacienda.  Vaqueros  were 
shouting,  and  a  large  drove  of  cattle  was  pouring  in 
at  the  gate.  We  were  about  following,  but  a  crowd 
of  men  and  women  on  the  steps  of  the  hacienda 
shouted  to  us  not  to  come  in,  and  a  man  ran  to- 
ward us,  throwing  up  both  hands,  and  shut  the  gate 
directly  in  our  faces.  This  promised  us  another 
Don  Gregorio  welcome;  but  this  ominous  demon- 
stration did  not  mean  anything  churlish  ;  on  the 
contrary,  all  was  done  out  of  kindness.  We  had 
been  expected  for  three  months.  Through  the 
agency  of  friends  the  proprietor  had  advised  the 
major  domo  of  our  intended  visit,  directing  him  to 
do  all  in  his  power  to  make  us  comfortable,  and  it 
was  for  this  reason  that  the  latter  had  ordered  the 
gate  to  be  shut  upon  us,  for,  as  the  man  who  did 
it  told  us,  the  hacienda  was  overrun  with  women 
and  children,  and  there  was  no  room  for  another 
hammock.  He  conducted  us  to  the  church,  stand- 
ing in  a  fine  situation,  and  offered  us  the  sacris- 
tia,  or  vestry-room,  which  was  new,  clean,  and 
had  plastered  walls,  but  it  was  small,  and  had  only 
knobs  for  two  hammocks.  It  had  a  door  of  com- 
munication with  the  church,  and  he  said  we  might 
swing  a  third  hammock  in  the  latter,  but  it  was  to- 
ward the  en^  of  a  fiesta,  the  Indians  might  want  to 
use  the  altar,  and  we  had  some  scruples. 
Vol.  IL— N  n 


282*'^  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

Our  alternative  was  a  house  directly  opposite  the 
gate  of  the  hacienda,  to  which  there  was  no  objec- 
tion on  the  score  of  size,  for  as  yet  its  dimensions 
were  unlimited,  as  it  was  merely  a  frame  of  poles 
supporting  a  thatched  roof,  with  a  great  pile  of  lime 
and  sand  in  the  centre,  intended  to  be  made  into 
walls.  The  proprietor  was  erecting  it  expressly 
for  the  accommodation  of  travellers.  While  we  re- 
sided in  it,  the  pile  of  lime  and  sand  was  converted 
to  its  destined  purpose,  and  we  w^ere  plastered  in ; 
so  that  the  next  visiter  to  these  ruins  will  find  a 
good  house  ready  for  his  reception.  The  major 
domo  wished  us  to  take  our  meals  at  the  hacienda, 
but  as  we  had  all  our  travelling  equipage,  we  again 
organized  for  housekeeping,  and  to  that  end  we 
had  an  unusual  proportion  of  comforts.  Besides 
the  resources  of  the  hacienda,  we  had  the  village 
of  Piste  at  command,  and  Valladolid  being  but  six 
hours'  distance,  we  prepared  an  order  for  supplies 
to  be  sent  off  the  next  day. 

The  next  morning,  under  the  guidance  of  an  In- 
dian of  the  hacienda,  we  prepared  for  a  prehminary 
survey.  The  ruins  of  Chichen  lie  on  a  hacien- 
da, called  by  the  name  of  the  ancient  city.  It  is 
the  property  of  Don  Juan  Sosa,  and  was  set  off  to 
him,  on  the  decease  of  his  father  and  an  apportion- 
ment of  his  estate,  with  cattle,  horses,  and  mules,  at 
a  valuation  of  between  five  and  six  thousand  dol- 
lars. As  with  most  of  the  lands  in  tl^^it  neighbour- 
hood, the  fee  is  in  the  governmeut,  and  the  propri- 


RUINS    OF  CHICHEN. 


283 


etor  is  entitled  only  to  the  majores,  or  improve- 
ments. 

The  ruins  are  nine  leagues  from  Valladolid,  the 
camino  real  to  which  passes  directly  through  the 
field.  The  great  buildings  tower  on  both  sides  of 
the  road  in  full  sight  of  all  passers-by,  and  from 
the  fact  that  the  road  is  much  travelled,  the  ruins 
of  Chichen  are  perhaps  more  generally  known  to 
*  the  people  of  the  country  than  any  other  in  Yuca- 
tan. It  is  an  interesting  fact,  however,  that  the 
first  stranger  who  ever  visited  them  was  a  native 
of  New- York,  whom  we  afterward  met  at  Val- 
ladoUd,  and  who  is  now  again  residing  in  this 
city. 

Immediately  on  our  arrival  at  Chichen  we  heard 
of  a  paysanno,  or  countryman,  Don  Juan  Burque, 
enginero  en  la  machina  de  Valladolid,  the  English 
of  which  is,  Mr.  John  Burke,  engineer  in  the  fac- 
tory. In  1838  Mr.  Burke  came  from  Valladolid  to 
the  village  of  Cawa,  six  leagues  distant  from  Chi- 
chen. While  making  excursions  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, one  of  the  young  men  told  him  of  old  build- 
ings on  this  hacienda,  from  one  of  which  Vallado- 
lid was  visible.  Mr.  Burke  rode  over,  and  on  the 
fourth  of  July  stood  on  the  top  of  the  Castillo,  spy- 
glass in  hand,  looking  out  for  Valladolid.  Two 
years  afterward,  in  1840,  they  were  visited  by  the 
Baron  Frederichstahl,  and  by  him  first  brought  to 
the  notice  of  the  public,  both  in  Europe  and  this 


284 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


country ;  and  I  take  occasion  to  say  that  this  visit 
w^as  made  in  the  prosecution  of  a  route  recom- 
mended to  him  by  me  after  my  return  from  my  for- 
mer interrupted  journey  of  exploration  among  the 
ruins  of  Yucatan. 

But  to  return.  From  the  door  of  our  hut  some 
of  the  principal  buildings  were  in  sight.  We  w^ent 
first  to  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  camino  real. 
The  path  led  through  the  cattle-yard  of  the  hacienda, 
from  which  we  passed  out  at  one  end  by  a  range 
of  bars  into  the  field  of  ruins,  partially  wooded,  but 
the  greater  part  open  and  intersected  by  cattle-paths. 
Garrapatas  were  as  abundant  as  ever,  and  perhaps 
more  so  from  the  numerous  cattle  running  over  the 
plain,  but  the  luxuries  of  an  open  country,  and  the 
facility  of  moving  from  place  to  place,  were  so  great, 
tliat  these  could  not  mar  our  satisfaction,  which  was 
raised  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the  ruins  themselves. 
These  were,  indeed,  magnificent.  The  buildings 
were  large,  and  some  were  in  good  preservation;  in 
general,  the  fa9ades  were  not  so  elaborately  orna- 
mented as  some  we  had  seen,  seemed  of  an  older 
date,  and  the  sculpture  was  ruder,  but  the  interior 
apartments  contained  decorations  and  devices  that 
were  new  to  us,  and  powerfully  interesting.  All 
tlie  principal  buildings  were  within  a  comparatively 
small  compass  ;  in  fact,  they  were  in  such  proximity, 
and  the  facihties  for  moving  among  them  were  so 
great,  that  by  one  o'clock  we  had  visited  every 


S  E  N  0  T  E  S. 


285 


building,  examined  every  apartment,  and  arranged 
the  whole  plan  and  order  of  work.    This  over,  we 
went  to  join  Doctor  Cabot,  who  was  in  the  mearf  ' 
time  pursuing  an  independent  occupation,  but  on 
joint  account,  and  for  joint  benefit.    •  \ 

The  name  of  Chichen  is  another  instance  added 
to  those  already  given,  showing  the  importance  at- 
tached in  that  dry  country  to  the  poss^ion  of 
water.  It  is  compounded  of  the  two  Maya  words 
chi,  mouth,  and  chen,  well,  and  signifies  the  mouth 
of  the  well.  Among  the  ruins  are  two  great  se-  • 
notes,  which,  beyond  doubt,  furnished  water  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  ancient  city.  Since  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  hacienda  and  the  construction  of  a 
well,  these  had  fallen  into  disuse.  Doctor  Cabot 
had  undertaken  to  open  a  path  in  one  of  them  down 
to  the  water,  for  the  purpose  of  bathing,  which,  in 
that  hot  climate,  was  as  refreshing  as  food.  We 
came  upon  him  just  as  he  had  finished,  and,  besides 
his  Indian  workmen,  he  had  the  company  of  a  large 
party  of  Mestizo  boys  from  the  village  of  Piste, 
who  were  already  taking  advantage  of  his  labours, 
and  were  then  swimming,  diving,  and  perched  all 
about  in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks. 

On  our  journey  from  Peto,  the  particulars  of 
which  I  was  obliged  to  omit,  we  had  entered  a  re- 
gion where  the  sources  of  the  supply  of  water  again 
formed  a  new  and  distinctive  feature  in  the  face  of 
the  country,  wilder,  and,  at  first  sight,  perhaps  crea- 


286  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

ting  a  stronger  feeling  of  admiration  and  wonder 
than  even  the  extraordinary  cuevas,  aguadas,  and 
senotes  we  had  formerly  encountered.  These,  too, 
are  called  senotes,  but  they  differ  materially  from 
those  before  jiiesented,  being  immense  circular  holes, 
from  sixty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  with 
broken,  rocky,  perpendicular  sides  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred^et  deep,  and  having  at  the  bottom  a  great 
body  of  water,  of  an  unknown  depth,  always  about 
the  same  level,  supposed  to  be  supplied  by  subterra- 
nean rivers.  We  had  seen  ranchos  of  Indians  es- 
tablished near  these  senotes,  with  a  raiUng  on  one 
side,  over  which  Indian  women  were  drawing  up 
water  in  little  bark  buckets  ;  probably  the  two  great 
senotes  at  this  place  were  the  inducements  to  the 
foundation  of  the  ancient  city. 

The  engraving  that  follows  represents  this  senote 
among  the  ruins  of  Chichen.  Though  wild  enough 
in  its  appearance,  it  had  less  of  that  extraordinary 
regularity  than  the  others  we  had  seen.  Those 
were  all  circular,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  access 
to  the  water  except  by  means  of  a  rope.  This  was 
oblong,  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  wide.  The  sides  were 
between  sixty  and  seventy  feet  high,  and  perpen- 
dicular, except  in  one  place,  which  was  broken  so 
as  to  form  a  steep,  winding  descent  to  the  water. 
The  view  is  taken  from  the  edge  of  the  water. 
The  path  is  evidently,  to  a  certain  extent,  artificial, 


MISCHIEVOUS  BOYS. 


287 


as  we  saw  in  one  place  the  vestiges  of  a  stone  wall 
along  the  brink.  On  this  side  Doctor  Cabot  had 
erected  a  railing  for  protection,  which  the  mischiev- 
ous boys  of  Piste  afterward  pulled  down  ;  we  tempt- 
ed them  with  a  reward  of  two  reales  apiece  for  the 
discovery  of  the  offenders,  but  none  of  them  ever 
accepted  the  offer.  These  boys,  by-the-way,  with 
the  inhabitants  of  Piste  generally,  both  men  and 
women,  seemed  to  consider  that  the  opening  of  this 


28S 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


path  was  for  their  especial  benefit,  and  at  first  they 
made  it  a  point  to  be  on  the  spot  at  the  same  hour 
with  us.  Upon  one  occasion  we  were  so  annoyed 
bj  the  presence  of  two  ladies  of  that  village,  who 
seemed  determined  not  to  go  away,  that  we  were 
obliged  to  come  to  an  amicable  understanding  by 
means  of  a  peremptory  notice  that  all  persons  must 
give  us  the  benefit  of  their  absence  at  that  hour ; 
and  every  day,  when  the  sun  was  vertical  and 
scarely  endurable  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  we 
bathed  in  this  deep  senote. 

We  returned  to  the  hut  well  satisfied  with  our 
first  day  at  Chichen;  and  there  was  another  circum- 
stance which,  though  painful  in  itself,  added  mate- 
rially to  the  spirit  with  which  we  commenced  our 
labours  at  this  place.  The  danger  apprehended 
from  the  rainy  season  was  coming  to  pass,  and  un- 
der the  anticipation  of  a  failure  of  the  next  crop, 
corn  had  risen  from  two  reales  to  a  dollar  the  load. 
The  distress  occasioned  in  this  country  by  the  fail- 
ure of  the  corn  crop  cannot  well  be  imagined.  In 
1836  this  calamity  occurred,  and  from  the  same 
cause  that  threatened  to  produce  it  now.  Along 
the  coast  a  supply  was  furnished  from  the  United 
States,  but  it  would  not  bear  the  expense  of  trans- 
portation into  the  interior,  and  in  this  region  corn 
rose  to  four  dollars  a  load,  which  put  the  staff  of 
life  completely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Indians. 
Famine  ensued,  and  the  poor  Indians  died  of  star- 
vation.   At  the  time  of  our  arrival,  the  criados,  or 


FAILURE    OF    THE    CORN    CROP.  289 

servants,  of  the  hacienda,  always  improvident,  had 
consumed  their  small  stock,  and,  with  no  hope  from 
their  milpas,  with  the  permission  of  the  master  were 
about  moving  away  to  regions  where  the  pressure 
would  be  less  severe.  Our  arrival,  as  the  major 
domo  told  us,  arrested  this  movement;  instead  of 
our  being  obliged  to  hunt  them  up,  the  poor  Indians 
crowded  round  the  door  of  our  hut,  begging  em- 
ployment, and  scrambling  for  the  reales  which  Albino 
distributed  among  them ;  but  all  the  relief  we  could 
afford  them  was  of  short  duration,  and  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  mention  that  at  the  moment  of  writing 
the  calamity  apprehended  has  come  to  pass;  the 
ports  of  Yucatan  are  thrown  open  and  begging  for 
bread,  and  that  country  in  which,  but  a  few  short 
months  since,  we  were  moving  so  quietly  and  expe- 
riencing continual  acts  of  kindness,  is  now  groaning 
under  famine  superadded  to  the  horrors  of  war. 
Vol.  IL— 0  o  25 


290 


PLAN    OF    THE  RUINS. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

Plan  of  the  Ruins. — An  Edifice  called  Akatzeeb. — Doorways.— 
Apartments. — Circular  Mass  of  Masonry. — Mysterious  Cham- 
ber.— Sculptured  Stone  Tablet. — Majestic  Pile  of  Building  call- 
ed the  Monjas. — Hieroglyphics. — Rich  Ornaments.— Doorways, 
Chambers,  &c. — Remains  of  Painting. — The  Eglesia,  or  Church. 
— Ornaments  on  the  Fagade. — Cartouches  in  Plaster. — Circular 
Edifice  called  the  Caracol. — Apartment. — Staircase,  having  on 
each  Side  entwined  Serpents. — Gigantic  Head. — Doorways. — 
Paintings. — Building  called  Chichanchob. — Ornaments. — Row 
of  Hieroglyphics. — Another  Building. — Vestiges  of  Mounds  and 
ruined  Buildings. — Extraordinary  Edifice,  to  which  the  Name 
Gymnasium  or  Tennis-court  is  given. — Ornamented  Columns. — 
Sculptured  Figures  in  Bas-relief. — Massive  Stone  Rings,  with 
entwined  Serpents. — Indian  Sports. — Two  Ranges  of  Buildings. 
— Procession  of  Tigers. — Sculptured  Columns. — Figures  in  Bas- 
relief. —  Richly-carved  Lintel.  —  Paintings.  —  The  Castillo. — 
Staircase.  —  Colossal  Serpents'  Heads. — Doorways. — Carved 
Lintels. — Jambs  ornamented  with  Sculptured  Figures. — Corri- 
dors.— Apartments. — Square  Pillars,  covered  with  Sculptured 
Figures. — Rows  of  Columns. — Occupation  and  Abandonment  of 
Chichen  by  the  Spaniards. — First  Discovery  of  Chichen.— Se- 
notes. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  general  plan  of 
the  ruins  of  Chichen.  This  plan  is  made  from  bear- 
ings taken  with  the  compass,  and  the  distances  were 
all  measured  with  a  line.  The  buildings  are  laid 
down  on  the  plan  according  to  their  exterior  form. 
All  now  standing  are  comprehended,  and  the  whole 
circumference  occupied  by  them  is  about  two  miles, 
which  is  equal  to  the  diameter  of  two  thirds  of  a 
mile,  though  ruined  buildings  appear  beyond  these 
limits. 


rr 


.'^  .  CrYmnasixmi  ■ 

C  HiiHdm.j  nith  i:i,ui' 
Yi^SriiaTCT.-rnpl: 
Yl  Bidldzng  with  H^froi/lypluc.s 
F*.  Ccrcnlai- BuHJjni:/ - " 

Vr.Akatzcdb  siQ7Lil\'iji,i  JVvihno  m  ihr-JJark. 
H  Lnsll  nj ,  i     \       ?  / ) 

r  TluM  7 

J  rinii  II  1,  I  I 

K  JIo7/s<-  /(.v  .^rr-z/i  </,■/:.■. 

bcale  01  EiiohsliFefl:^ 

GENEBALFIjAN 
of  the  Bull  dings  at 

CHICHEI\"  ITZA 


Indian  Suts 


'^-HTveye-d  &  Drcoviz  Irv  I''.  Catherwood  .March-.  1841  ■ 


EDIFICE    CALLED    AKATZEEB.  291 

By  referring  to  the  plan  the  reader  will  see  the 
position  of  the  hut  in  which  we  lived,  and,  following 
the  path  from  our  door  through  the  cattle-yard  of 
the  hacienda,  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  he  will  reach  the  building  represented  in 
the  plate  opposite.  It  does  not  stand  on  an  artifi- 
cial terrace,  but  the  earth  seems  to  have  been  exca- 
vated for  some  distance  before  it,  so  as  to  give  it 
elevation  of  position.  It  faces  the  east,  and  meas- 
ures one  hundred  and  forty-nine  feet  in  front  by 
forty-eight  feet  deep.  The  whole  exterior  is  rude, 
and  without  ornament  of  any  kind.  A  grand  stair- 
case, forty- five  feet  wide,  now  entirely  in  ruins,  rises 
in  the  centre  to  the  roof  of  the  building.  On  each 
side  of  the  staircase  are  two  doorways ;  at  each  end 
is  a  single  doorway,  and  the  front  facing  the  west 
has  seven.  The  whole  number  of  apartments  is 
eighteen.  The  west  front  opens  upon  a  large  hol- 
low surface,  whether  natural  or  artificial  it  is  not  easy 
to  say,  and  in  the  centre  of  this  is  one  of  those  fea- 
tures before  referred  to,  a  solid  mass  of  masonry, 
forty-four  feet  by  thirty-four,  standing  out  from  the 
wall,  high  as  the  roof,  and  corresponding,  in  position 
and  dimensions,  with  the  ruined  staircase  on  the 
eastern  front.  This  projection  is  not  necessary  for 
the  support  of  the  building ;  it  is  not  an  ornament, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  a  deformity ;  and  whether  it 
be  really  a  soUd  mass,  or  contain  interior  chambers, 
remains  to  be  ascertained  by  the  future  explorer. 

At  the  south  end  the  doorway  opens  into  a 


292 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


chamber,  round  which  hangs  a  greater  and  more 
impenetrable  mystery.  This  chamber  is  nineteen 
feet  wide  by  eight  feet  six  inches  deep,  and  in  the 
back  wall  a  low,  narrow  doorway  communicates 
with  another  chamber  in  the  rear,  of  the  same  di- 
mensions, but  having  its  floor  one  step  higher.  The 
lintel  of  this  doorway  is  of  stone,  and  on  the  soffite, 
or  under  part,  is  sculptured  the  subject  represented 
in  the  engraving  opposite.  This  tablet,  and  the 
position  in  which  it  exists,  have  given  the  name  to 
the  building,  which  the  Indians  call  Akatzeeb,  sig- 
nifying the  writing  in  the  dark ;  for,  as  no  light  en- 
ters except  from  the  single  doorway,  the  chamber 
was  so  dark  that  the  drawing  could  with  difficulty 
be  copied.  It  was  the  first  time  in  Yucatan  that 
we  had  found  hieroglyphics  sculptured  on  stone, 
which,  beyond  all  question,  bore  the  same  type  with 
those  at  Copan  and  Palenque.  The  sitting  figure 
seems  performing  some  act  of  incantation,  or  some 
religious  or  idolatrous  rite,  which  the  "  writing  in 
the  dark"  undoubtedly  explains,  if  one  could  but 
read  it.  Physical  force  may  raze  these  buildings  to 
the  ground,  and  lay  bare  all  the  secrets  they  con- 
tain, but  physical  force  can  never  unravel  the  mys- 
tery that  involves  this  sculptured  tablet. 

Leaving  this  building,  and  following  the  path  in- 
dicated in  the  map,  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  westward  we  reach  a  modern  stone 
fence,  dividing  the  cattle-field  of  the  hacienda,  on 


r 


PILE  OF  BUILDING  CALLED   THE  MONJAS.293 

the  Other  side  of  which  appears  through  the  trees, 
between  two  other  buildings,  the  end  fapade  of  a 
long,  majestic  pile,  called,  like  one  of  the  principal 
edifices  at  Uxmal,  the  Monjas,  or  Nuns ;  it  is  re- 
markable for  its  good  state  of  preservation,  and  the 
richness  and  beauty  of  its  ornaments,  as  represented 
in  the  plate  opposite.  The  view  comprehends  the 
corner  of  a  building  on  the  right,  at  a  short  distance, 
called  the  Eglesia,  or  Church.  The  height  of  this 
facade  is  twenty-five  feet,  and  its  width  thirty-five. 
It  has  two  cornices  of  tasteful  and  elaborate  design. 
Over  the  doorway  are  twenty  small  cartouches  of 
hieroglyphics  in  four  rows,  five  in  a  row,  barely  in- 
dicated in  the  engraving,  and  to  make  room  for 
which  the  lower  cornice  is  carried  up.  Over  these 
stand  out  in  a  line  six  bold  projecting  curved  orna- 
ments, like  that  presented  from  the  House  of  the 
Governor  at  Uxmal,  resembling  an  elephant's  trunk, 
and  the  upper  centre  space  over  the  doorway  is  an 
irregular  circular  niche,  in  which  portions  of  a  seat- 
ed figure,  with  a  head-dress  of  feathers,  still  remain. 
The  rest  of  the  ornaments  are  of  that  distinctive 
stamp,  characteristic  of  the  ancient  American  cities, 
and  unlike  the  designs  of  any  other  people,  with 
which  the  reader  must  now  be  familiar.  The  trop- 
ical plants  and  shrubs  growing  on  the  roof,  which, 
when  we  first  saw  it,  hung  over  the  cornice  like  a 
fringe-work,  added  greatly  to  the  picturesque  efiect 
of  this  elegant  fa9ade. 


294 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  the 
same  building.    It  is  composed  of  two  structures 
entirely  different  from  each  other,  one  of  which 
forms  a  sort  of  wing  to  the  principal  edifice,  and 
has  at  the  end  the  facade  before  presented.  The 
whole  length  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet, 
and  the  depth  of  the  principal  structure  is  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  feet.    The  only  portion  containing 
interior  chambers  is  that  which  I  have  called  the 
wing.    This  has  two  doorways  opening  into  cham- 
bers twenty-six  feet  long  and  eight  feet  deep,  behind 
each  of  which  is  another  of  corresponding  dimen- 
sions, now  filled  up  several  feet  with  mortar  and 
stones,  and  appearing  to  have  been  originally  filled  up 
solid  to  the  ceiling,  making  again  casas  cerradas,  or 
closed  houses.    The  whole  number  of  chambers  in 
this  wing  is  nine,  and  these  are  all  the  apartments  on 
the  ground  floor.    The  great  structure  to  which  the 
wing  adjoins  is  apparently  a  solid  mass  of  masonry, 
erected  only  to  hold  up  the  two  ranges  of  buildings 
upon  it.    A  grand  staircase  fifty-six  feet  wide,  the 
largest  we  saw  in  the  country,  rises  to  the  top.  On 
one  side  of  the  staircase  a  huge  breach,  twenty  or 
thirty  feet  deep,  has  been  made  by  the  proprietor, 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  out  building  stone,  which 
discloses  only  solid  masonry.    The  grand  staircase 
is  thirty-two  feet  high,  and  has  thirty-nine  steps. 
On  the  top  of  the  structure  stands  a  range  of  build- 
ings, with  a  platform  of  fourteen  feet  in  front  ex- 
tending all  round. 


SECOND    AND    THIRD  RANGE. 


295 


From  the  back  of  this  platform  the  grand  stair- 
case rises  again,  having  the  same  width,  fifteen 
steps  to  the  roof  of  the  second  range,  which  forms 
a  platform  in  front  of  the  third  range  ;  this  last  is, 
unfortunately,  in  a  ruinous  condition,  and  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  in  this,  as  in  all  the  other  cases,  these 
ancient  architects  never  placed  an  upper  building  on 
the  roof  of  a  lower  one,  but  always  back,  so  as  to  rest 
on  a  structure  solid  from  the  ground,  the  roof  of  the 
lower  range  being  merely  a  platform  in  front  of  the 
upper  one. 

The  circumference  of  this  building  is  six  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  feet,  and  its  height,  when  entire, 
was  sixty-five  feet.  It  seems  to  have  been  con- 
structed only  with  reference  to  the  second  range  of 
apartments,  upon  which  the  art  and  skill  of  the 
builders  have  been  lavishly  expended.  It  is  one 
hundred  and  four  feet  long  and  thirty  feet  wide,  and 
the  broad  platform  around  it,  though  overgrown  with 
grass  several  feet  high,  formed  a  noble  promenade, 
commanding  a  magnificent  view  of  the  whole  sur- 
rounding country. 

On  the  side  of  the  staircase  are  five  doorways, 
of  which  the  three  centre  ones  are  what  are  usually 
called  false  doors,  appearing  to  be  merely  recesses  in 
the  wall.  The  compartments  between  the  door- 
ways contained  combinations  of  ornaments  of  un- 
usual taste  and  elegance,  both  in  arrangement  and 
design.  The  two  extreme  doorways  open  into 
chambers,  in  each  of  which  are  three  long  recesses 


296 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


in  the  back  wall,  extending  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling,  all  of  which,  from  the  remains  still  visible, 
w^ere  once  ornamented  with  paintings.  At  each 
end  of  the  building  was  another  chamber,  with 
three  niches  or  recesses,  and  on  the  other  side,  fa- 
cing the  south,  the  three  centre  doorways,  corre- 
sponding with  the  false  doors  on  the  north  side, 
opened  into  an  apartment  forty-seven  feet  long  and 
nine  deep,  having  nine  long  niches  in  the  back  wall ; 
all  the  walls  from  the  floor  to  the  peak  of  the  arch 
had  been  covered  with  painted  designs,  now  wan- 
tonly defaced,  but  the  remains  of  which  present  col- 
ours in  some  places  still  bright  and  vivid ;  and 
among  these  remains  detached  portions  of  human 
figures  continually  recur,  well  drawn,  the  heads 
adorned  with  plumes  of  feathers,  and  the  hands 
bearing  shields  and  spears.  All  attempt  at  descrip- 
tion would  fail,  and  much  more  would  an  attempt 
to  describe  the  strange  interest  of  walking  along  the 
overgrown  platform  of  this  gigantic  and  desolate 
building. 

Descending  again  to  the  ground,  at  the  end  of  the 
wing  stands  what  is  called  the  Eglesia,  or  Church,  a 
corner  of  which  was  comprehended  in  a  previous 
view,  and  the  front  of  which  is  represented  in  the 
plate  opposite.  It  is  twenty-six  feet  long,  fourteen 
deep,  and  thirty-one  high,  its  comparatively  great 
height  adding  very  much  to  the  effect  of  its  appear- 
ance. It  has  three  cornices,  and  the  spaces  be- 
tween are  richly  ornamented.    The  sculpture  is 


KGLESIA.CHICHF.TT  JTZA 


I'ag,  296.Yol 


THE    EGLESIA,    OR  CHURCH. 


297 


rude  but  grand.  The  principal  ornament  is  over  the 
doorway,  and  on  each  side  are  two  human  figures 
in  a  sitting  posture,  but,  unfortunately,  much  mutila- 
ted. The  portion  of  the  facade  above  the  second 
cornice  is  merely  an  ornamented  wall,  like  those  be- 
fore mentioned  at  Zayi  and  Labna. 

The  whole  of  this  building  is  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation.  The  interior  consists  of  a  single 
apartment,  once  covered  with  plaster,  and  along  the 
top  of  the  wall  under  the  arch  are  seen  the  traces  of 
a  line  of  medalhons  or  cartouches  in  plaster,  which 
once  contained  hieroglyphics.  The  Indians  have 
no  superstitious  feelings  about  these  ruins,  except  in 
regard  to  this  building ;  and  in  this  they  say  that  on 
Good  Friday  of  every  year  music  is  heard  sound- 
ing ;  but  this  illusion,  brought  with  us  from  Santa 
Cruz  del  Quiche,  was  here  destined  to  be  broken. 
In  this  chamber  we  opened  our  Daguerreotype  ap- 
paratus, and  on  Good  Friday  were  at  work  all  day, 
but  heard  no  music.  This  chamber,  by-the-way, 
was  the  best  we  had  found  for  our  Daguerreotype 
operations.  Having  but  one  door,  it  was  easily 
darkened ;  we  were  not  obliged  to  pack  up  and  car- 
ry aw^ay ;  the  only  danger  was  of  cattle  getting  in 
and  breaking ;  and  there  was  no  difficulty  in  getting 
an  Indian  to  pass  the  night  in  the  room  and  guard 
against  this  peril. 

South  of  the  end  of  the  Monjas,  and  twenty-two 
feet  distant,  is  another  building,  measuring  thirty- 
eight  feet  by  thirteen,  having  the  exterior  above  the 

Vol.  II.— P  p 


298 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


cornice  decorated  in  the  usual  manner,  but  which 
I  do  not  think  it  worth  while  to  present. 

Leaving  this  pile  of  buildings,  and  passing  on 
northward  from  the  Monjas,  at  the  distance  of  four 
hundred  feet  we  reach  the  edifice  represented  in  the 
opposite  engraving,  conspicuous  among  the  ruins  of 
Chichen  for  its  picturesque  appearance,  and  unlike 
any  other  we  had  seen,  except  one  at  Mayapan 
much  ruined.  It  is  circular  in  form,  and  is  known 
by  the  name  of  the  Caracol,  or  winding  staircase, 
on  account  of  its  interior  arrangements.  It  stands 
on  the  upper  of  two  terraces.  The  lower  one 
measures  in  front  from  north  to  south  two  hundred 
and  twenty-three  feet,  and  in  depth  from  east  to 
west  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  is  still  in  good 
preservation.  A  grand  staircase  forty-five  feet  wide, 
and  containing  twenty  steps,  rises  to  the  platform  of 
this  terrace.  On  each  side  of  this  staircase,  forming 
a  sort  of  balustrade,  were  the  entwined  bodies  of 
two  gigantic  serpents,  three  feet  wide,  portions  of 
which  are  still  in  place  ;  and  among  the  ruins  of  the 
staircase  we  saw  a  gigantic  head,  which  had  termi- 
nated at  one  side  the  foot  of  the  steps. 

The  platform  of  the  second  terrace  measures 
eighty  feet  in  front  and  fifty-five  in  depth,  and  is 
reached  by  another  staircase  forty-two  feet  wide, 
and  having  sixteen  steps.  In  the  centre  of  the 
steps,  and  against  the  wall  of  the  terrace,  are  the  re- 
mains of  a  pedestal  six  feet  high,  on  which  probably 
once  stood  an  idol.    On  the  platform,  fifteen  feet 


THE  CARACOL. 


299 


from  the  last  step,  stands  the  building.  It  is  twen- 
ty-two feet  in  diameter,  and  has  four  small  door- 
ways facing  the  cardinal  points.  A  great  portion  of 
the  upper  part  and  one  of  the  sides  have  fallen. 
Above  the  cornice  the  roof  sloped  so  as  almost  to 
form  an  apex.  The  height,  including  the  terraces, 
is  little  short  of  sixty  feet,  and,  when  entire,  even 
among  the  great  buildings  around,  this  structure 
must  have  presented  a  striking  appearance.  The 
doorways  give  entrance  to  a  circular  corridor  five 
feet  wide.  The  inner  wall  has  also  four  doorways, 
smaller  than  the  others,  and  standing  at  intermedi- 
ate points  of  the  compass,  facing  northeast,  north- 
west, southwest,  and  southeast.  These  doors  give 
entrance  to  a  second  circular  corridor,  four  feet  wide; 
and  in  the  centre  is  a  circular  mass,  apparently  of 
solid  stone,  seven  feet  six  inches  in  diameter;  but  in 
one  place,  at  the  height  of  eight  feet  from  the  ground, 
was  a  small  square  opening  choked  up  with  stones, 
which  I  endeavoured  to  clear  out ;  but  the  stones 
falling  into  the  narrow  corridor  made  it  dangerous 
to  continue.  The  roof  was  so  tottering  that  I  could 
not  discover  to  what  this  opening  led.  It  was  about 
large  enough  to  admit  the  figure  of  a  man  in  a  stand- 
ing position,  to  look  out  from  the  top.  The  walls 
of  both  corridors  were  plastered  and  ornamented 
with  paintings,  and  both  were  covered  with  the  tri- 
angular arch.    The  plan  of  the  building  was  new, 


300 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


but,  instead  of  unfolding  secrets,  it  drew  closer  the 
curtain  that  already  shrouded,  with  almost  impene- 
trable folds,  these  mysterious  structures. 

At  the  distance  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
northwest  from  the  Caracol  stands  the  building  rep- 
resented in  the  following  engraving.    It  is  called  by 


the  Indians  Chichanchob,  meaning  in  Spanish,  Casa 
Colorada,  and  in  EngUsh,  Red  House.  The  terrace 
is  sixty-two  feet  long  and  fifty-five  wide,  and  is  still 
in  good  preservation ;  the  staircase  is  twenty  feet 
wide,  and  as  we  approached  it  on  our  first  visit,  a 
cow  was  coming  quietly  down  the  steps. 

The  building  measures  forty-three  feet  front  and 
twenty-three  feet  deep,  and  is  still  strong  and  sub- 
stantial.   Above  the  cornice  it  was  richly  orna- 


i 


1  Tl' 


Z.iZfl  of  Zzn^  of 


Grounds  pL.m  of  the  ]iu77,^.r/Yj 
ccrntaifvcng  ^oe-  rotr  of  Sterc- 
cjlyphirs  viltick.  are. placed  ever 
flio  three  vnrur  dporways . 


i.'EICEE'N'-ITZA 


A  Tirst  Room  in.  '.vh 

Hcmi  3.9  ft:  6vi.:lff}i.g  iy  "i^ft  6m'.  'broad.-,  j 
BEB  Small  vmer  rooms   wd^vr£mam.<:  i 
of  j>aintiru^. 


Sruh-  rr-  f^^t 
i|t).;;'  hi     i|o    2|o    3|n  5|0  


Vage.  3 PI  Vol.2 


HIEROGLYPHICS. 


301 


merited,  but  the  ornaments  are  now  much  decayed. 
It  has  three  doorways,  which  open  into  a  corridor 
running  the  whole  width  of  the  building ;  and  along 
the  top  of  the  back  wall  was  a  stone  tablet,  with  a 
row  of  hieroglyphics  extending  all  along  the  wall. 
Many  of  them  were  defaced,  and,  from  their  height, 
in  an  awkward  position  to  copy;  but  we  had  a 
scaffold  erected,  and  obtained  copies  of  the  whole. 
The  plate  opposite  represents  these  hieroglyphics, 
so  far  as  they  could  be  made  out.  When  not  dis- 
tinct, to  avoid  misleading  they  are  not  given  at  all. 
Under  the  hieroglyphics,  in  the  plate,  is  given  a  plan 
of  the  building,  with  its  terrace  and  staircase.  It 
has  a  back  corridor,  consisting  of  three  chambers, 
all  of  which  retain  the  marks  of  painting;  and, 
from  the  convenience  of  its  arrangements,  with  the 
platform  of  the  terrace  for  a  promenade,  and  the 
view  of  a  fine  open  country  in  front,  but  for  the 
greater  convenience  of  being  near  the  hacienda  we 
should  have  been  tempted  to  take  up  our  abode  in  it. 

At  the  short  distance  of  two  hundred  feet  is  the 
building  represented  in  the  following  engraving. 
The  platform  of  the  terrace  was  sixty-four  feet 
square,  the  building  had  three  rooms,  but  both  ter- 
race and  building  are  ruined,  and  the  view  is  pre- 
sented only  because  it  was  so  picturesque  that  Mr. 
Catherwood  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
draw  it. 

26 


302  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


All  these  buildings  are  within  three  hundred  yards 
of  the  staircase  of  the  Monjas  ;  from  any  interme- 
diate point  all  are  in  full  sight ;  the  field  is  open, 
and  intersected  by  cattle-paths  ;  the  buildings,  stair- 
cases, and  terraces  were  overgrown,  but  Indians 
being  at  hand  in  sufficient  force,  they  were  easily 
cleared,  and  the  whole  was  finished  with  a  despatch 
that  had  never  before  attended  our  progress. 

These  are  the  only  buildings  on  the  west  side  of 
the  camino  real  which  are  still  standing ;  but  great 
vestiges  exist  of  mounds  with  remains  of  buildings 


AN    EXTRAORDINARY    EDIFICE.  303 

upon  them,  and  colossal  stones  and  fragments  of 
sculptm-e  at  their  feet,  which  it  would  be  impossible 
to  present  in  detail. 

Passing  among  these  vestiges,  we  come  out  upon 
the  camino  real,  and,  crossing  it,  again  enter  an  open 
field,  containing  the  extraordinary  edifice  represent- 
ed in  the  plate  opposite,  which,  on  first  reaching 
the  field  of  ruins,  we  rode  in  on  horseback  to  exam- 
ine. It  consists  of  two  immense  parallel  walls,  each 
two  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet  long,  thirty  feet 
thick,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  apart.  One 
hundred  feet  from  the  northern  extremity,  facing  the 
open  space  between  the  walls,  stands  on  an  eleva- 
tion a  building  thirty-five  feet  long,  containing  a 
single  chamber,  with  the  front  fallen,  and,  rising 
among  the  rubbish,  the  remains  of  two  columns, 
elaborately  ornamented  with  sculpture  ;  the  whole 
interior  wall  being  exposed  to  view,  covered  from 
the  floor  to  the  peak  of  the  arch  with  sculptured  fig- 
ures in  bas-relief,  much  worn  and  faded.  The  en- 
graving represents  the  two  walls,  with  this  building 
in  the  distance.  And  at  the  other  end,  setting  back, 
too,  one  hundred  feet,  and  commanding  the  space 
between  the  walls,  is  another  building  eighty-one 
feet  long,  also  ruined,  but  exhibiting  the  remains  of 
two  columns  richly  ornamented  with  sculptured 
figures  in  bas-relief  The  position  in  which  these 
walls  and  buildings  stand  to  each  other  is  laid  down 
on  the  general  plan. 

In  the  centre  of  the  great  stone  walls,  exactly  op- 


304 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL. 


posite  each  other,  and  at  the  height  of  twenty  feet 
from  the  ground,  are  two  massive  stone  rings,  four 
feet  in  diameter,  and  one  foot  one  inch  thick ;  the 
diameter  of  the  hole  is  one  foot  seven  inches.  On 
the  rim  and  border  were  two  sculptured  entwined 
serpents,  one  of  which  is  represented  in  the  engra- 
ving below. 


These  wails,  at  the  first  glance,  we  considered 
identical  in  their  uses  and  purposes  with  the  parallel 
structures  supporting  the  rings  at  Uxmal,  of  which 
I  have  already  expressed  the  opinion  that  they  were 
intended  for  the  celebration  of  some  public  games. 
I  have  in  all  cases  adopted  the  names  of  buildings 
which  I  found  assigned  to  them  on  the  spot,  where 


INDIAN  SPORTS. 


305 


any  existed,  and  where  there  were  none  I  have  not 
attempted  to  give  any.  At  Chichen  all  the  principal 
buildings  have  names  ;  this  is  called  an  Eglesia,  or 
Church,  of  the  antiguos,  which  was  begun,  but  not 
finished,  and  the  great  open  walls  present  not  a  bad 
idea  of  one  of  their  gigantic  churches  before  the 
roof  is  put  on  ;  but  as  we  have  already  one  Eglesia, 
and  there  is  historical  authority  which,  in  my  opin- 
ion, shows  clearly  the  object  and  uses  of  this  extra- 
ordinary structure,  I  shall  call  it,  as  occasion  requires, 
the  Gymnasium  or  Tennis-court. 

In  the  account  of  the  diversions  of  Montezuma, 
given  by  Herrera,  we  have  the  following  : 

"  The  King  took  much  Delight  in  seeing  Sport 
at  Ball,  which  the  Spaniards  have  since  prohibited, 
because  of  the  Mischief  that  often  hapned  at  it; 
and  was  by  them  call'd  Tlachtli,  being  like  our  Ten- 
nis. The  Ball  was  made  of  the  Gum  of  a  Tree  that 
grows  in  hot  Countries,  which,  having  Holes  made 
in  it,  distils  great  white  Drops,  that  soon  harden, 
and,  being  work'd  and  moulded  together,  turn  as 
black  as  Pitch.^  The  Balls  made  thereof,  tho'  hard 
and  heavy  to  the  Hand,  did  bound  and  fly  as  well 
as  our  Foot-balls,  there  being  no  need  to  blow  them  ; 
nor  did  they  use  Chaces,  but  vy'd  to  drive  the  ad- 
verse Party  that  is  to  hit  the  Wall,  the  others  were 
to  make  good,  or  strike  it  over.  They  struck  it 
with  any  Part  of  their  Body,  as  it  hapned,  or 
they  could  most  conveniently;  and  sometimes  he 

*  Undoubtedly  caoutchouc,  or  India-rubber. 

Vol.  IL— a  a 


306  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

lost  that  touched  it  with  any  other  Part  but  his 
Hip,  which  was  look'd  upon  among  them  as  the 
greatest  Dexterity ;  and  to  this  Effect,  that  the  Ball 
might ,  rebound  the  better,  they  fastned  a  Piece  of 
stiff  Leather  on  their  Hips.  They  might  strike  it 
every  time  it  rebounded,  which  it  would  do  several 
Times  one  after  another,  in  so  much  that  it  look'd 
as  if  it  had  been  alive.  They  play'd  in  Parties,  so 
many  on  a  Side,  for  a  Load  of  Mantles,  or  what  the 
Gamesters  could  afford,  at  so  many  Scores.  They 
also  play'd  for  Gold,  and  Feather-work,  and  some- 
times play'd  themselves  away,  as  has  been  said  be- 
fore. The  Place  where  they  play'd  was  a  ground 
Room,  long,  narrow,  and  high,  but  wider  above 
than  below,  and  higher  on  the  Sides  than  at  the 
Ends,  and  they  kept  it  very  well  plaster'd  and 
smooth,  both  the  Walls  and  the  Floor.  On  the 
side  Walls  they  fix'd  certain  Stones,  like  those  of  a 
Mill,  with  a  Hole  quite  through  the  Middle,  just  as 
big  as  the  Ball,  and  he  that  could  strike  it  through 
there  won  the  Game  ;  and  in  Token  of  its  being  an 
extraordinary  Success,  which  rarely  hapned,  he  had 
a  Right  to  the  Cloaks  of  all  the  Lookers-on,  by  an- 
tient  Custom,  and  Law  amongst  Gamesters  ;  and  it 
was  very  pleasant  to  see,  that  as  soon  as  ever  the 
Ball  was  in  the  Hole,  the  Standers-by  took  to  their 
Heels,  running  away  with  all  their  Might  to  save 
their  Cloaks,  laughing  and  rejoicing,  others  scouring 
after  them  to  secure  their  Cloaks  for  the  Winner, 
who  was  obhg'd  to  offer  some  Sacrifice  to  the  Idol 


CONSECRATION    OF    THE    TENNIS-COURT.  307 

of  the  Tennis-court,  and  the  Stone  through  whose 
Hole  the  Ball  had  pass'd.  Every  Tennis-court  was 
a  Temple,  having  two  Idols,  the  one  of  Gaming, 
and  the  other  of  the  Ball.  On  a  lucky  Day,  at  Mid- 
night, they  performed  certain  Ceremonies  and  En- 
chantments on  the  two  lower  Walls  and  on  the 
Midst  of  the  Floor,  singing  certain  Songs,  or  Bal- 
lads ;  after  which  a  Priest  of  the  great  Temple  went 
with  some  of  their  Religious  Men  to  bless  it ;  he 
uttered  some  Words,  threw  the  Ball  about  the  Ten- 
nis-court four  Times,  and  then  it  was  consecrated, 
and  might  be  play'd  in,  but  not  before.  The  Own- 
er of  the  Tennis-court,  who  was  always  a  Lord, 
never  play'd  without  making  some  Offering  and 
performing  certain  Ceremonies  to  the  Idol  of  Ga- 
ming, which  shows  how  superstitious  they  were, 
since  they  had  such  Regard  to  their  Idols,  even  in 
their  Diversions.  Montezuma  carry'd  the  Spaniards 
to  this  Sport,  and  was  well  pleas'd  to  see  them  play 
at  it,  as  also  at  Cards  and  Dice." 

With  some  shght  variation  in  details,  the  gen- 
eral features  are  so  identical  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
on  my  mind  that  this  structure  was  erected  for 
precisely  the  same  object  as  the  Tennis-court  in 
the  city  of  Mexico  described  by  Herrera.  The 
temples  are  at  hand  in  which  sacrifices  were  of- 
fered, and  we  discover  in  this  something  more  im- 
portant than  the  mere  determining  of  the  char- 
acter of  a  building ;  for  in  the  similarity  of  diver- 
sions we  see  a  resemblance  in  manners  and  insti- 


308 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


tutions,  and  trace  an  affinity  between  the  people 
who  erected  the  ruined  cities  of  Yucatan  and  those 
who  inhabited  Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
In  the  account  of  Herrera,  moreover,  we  see  inci- 
dentally the  drawing  of  a  funeral  pall  over  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  natives,  for  we  learn  that  the  sport 
which  "  Montezuma  took  much  delight  in  seeing," 
and  which,  beyond  doubt,  was  a  favourite  diversion 
of  the  people,  "  the  Spaniards  have  since  prohibited." 

At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  eastern  wall, 
and  on  the  outer  side,  stands  the  building  represent- 
ed in  the  engraving  opposite,  consisting  of  two 
ranges,  one  even  with  the  ground,  and  the  other 
about  twenty-five  feet  above  it,  the  latter  being  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  simple,  tasteful  in  its  ar- 
rangement of  ornaments,  and  having  conspicuous  a 
procession  of  tigers  or  lynxes,  which  appear  on  a 
small  scale  in  the  engraving.  From  its  lofty  posi- 
tion, with  trees  growing  around  it  and  on  the  roof, 
the  effect  is  beautifully  picturesque ;  but  it  has,  be- 
sides, a  far  higher  interest,  and  on  some  considera- 
tions may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  the  most  impor- 
tant structure  that  we  met  with  in  our  whole  ex- 
ploration of  ruins. 

The  lower  building,  standing  on  the  ground,  is 
in  a  ruinous  condition :  the  front  has  fallen,  and 
shows  only  the  remains  of  two  columns  covered 
with  sculptured  figures  ;  the  fall  of  the  front  has 
laid  bare  the  entire  wall  of  the  chamber,  covered 
from  one  end  to  the  other  with  elaborately-sculp- 
tured figures  in  bas-relief 


FIGURES    IN    BAS-RELIEF.  309 

The  plate  opposite  represents  a  portion  of  these 
figures.  Exposed  for  ages  to  a  long  succession  of 
winds  and  rains,  the  characters  were  faded  and 
worn ;  under  the  glare  of  a  tropical  sun  the  lines 
were  confused  and  indistinct,  and  the  reflection  of 
the  heat  was  so  intense  that  it  was  impossible  to 
work  before  it  except  for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  af- 
ternoon, when  the  building  was  in  the  shade.  The 
head-dress  of  the  figures  is,  as  usual,  a  plume  of  feath- 
ers, and  in  the  upper  row  each  figure  carries  a  bun- 
dle of  spears  or  a  quiver  of  arrows.  All  these  figures 
were  painted,  and  the  reader  may  imagine  what  the 
effect  must  have  been  when  all  was  entire.  The 
Indians  call  this  chamber  Stohl,  and  say  that  it 
represents  a  dance  of  the  antiguos ;  and  these  bas- 
reliefs,  too,  have  a  distinct  and  independent  value. 
Iq  the  large  work  of  Nebel,  entitled  "  Voyage  Pit- 
toresque  et  Archeologique  dans  le  Mexique,"  lately 
published  at  Paris,  is  a  drawing  of  the  stone  of  sac- 
rifice in  the  Museum  of  Mexico,  and  now  for  the 
first  time  published.  It  is  nine  feet  in  diameter  and 
three  feet  thick,  and  contains  a  procession  of  figures 
in  bas-relief,  which,  though  differing  in  detail,  are  of 
the  same  general  character  with  those  sculptured  on 
the  wall  of  this  building.  The  stone  was  dug  up  in 
the  plaza  of  Mexico,  near  the  spot  on  which  stood, 
in  the  time  of  Montezuma,  the  great  teocalis  of  that 
city.  The  resemblance  stands  upon  a  different  foot- 
ing from  any  which  may  exist  in  Mitla,  or  Xocichal- 
co,  or  other  places,  the  history  of  which  is  unknown, 


V 


310  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

and  forms  another  connecting  link  with  the  very  peo- 
ple who  occupied  the  city  of  Mexico  at  the  time  of 
the  conquest.  And  the  proofs  go  on  accumulating. 
In  the  upper  building,  the  back  of  which  appears 
in  the  engraving,  is  presented  a  casket  containing, 
though  broken  and  disfigured,  perhaps  the  greatest 
gem  of  aboriginal  art  which  on  the  whole  Conti- 
nent of  America  now  survives. 

The  steps  or  other  means  of  access  to  this  build- 
ing are  gone,  and  we  reached  it  by  clambering  over 
fallen  stones.  The  door  opens  upon  the  platform 
of  the  wall,  overlooking  the  Tennis-court.  The 
front  corridor  was  supported  by  massive  pillars,  por- 
tions of  which  still  remain,  covered  with  elaborate 
sculptured  ornaments.  The  lintel  of  the  inner  door- 
way is  a  beam  of  sapote  richly  carved.  The  jambs 
are  partly  buried,  and  above  the  rubbish  appear 
sculptured  figures  with  rich  head-dresses,  which 
anywhere  else  we  should  have  considered  it  neces- 
sary to  bring  to  light  and  copy ;  but  between  these 
jambs  we  enter  an  inner  chamber,  the  walls  and 
ceiling  of  which  are  covered,  from  the  floor  to  the 
peak  of  the  arch,  with  designs  in  painting,  repre- 
senting, in  bright  and  vivid  colours,  human  figures, 
battles,  houses,  trees,  and  scenes  of  domestic  life, 
and  conspicuous  on  one  of  the  walls  is  a  large  ca- 
noe ;  but  the  first  feeling  of  gratified  surprise  was 
followed  by  heavy  disappointment,  for  the  whole 
was  mutilated  and  disfigured.  In  some  places  the 
plaster  was  broken  off ;  in  every  part  deep  and  ma- 


Par/e3n  Vol  2. 


PAINTINGS. 


311 


lignant  scratches  appeared  in  the  walls,  and  while 
individual  figures  were  entire,  the  connexion  of  the 
subjects  could  not  be  made  out.  For  a  long  time 
we  had  been  tantahzed  with  fragments  of  paint- 
ing, giving  us  the  strong  impression  that  in  this 
more  perishable  art  these  aboriginal  builders  had 
made  higher  attainments  than  in  that  of  sculpture, 
and  we  now  had  proofs  that  our  impression  did  them 
justice.  The  plate  opposite  represents  detached 
portions  of  these  paintings.  The  colours  are  green, 
yellow,  red,  blue,  and  a  reddish  brown,  the  last  be- 
ing invariably  the  colour  given  to  human  flesh. 
Wanting  the  various  tints,  the  engraving,  of  course, 
gives  only  an  imperfect  idea  of  them,  though,  even 
in  outline,  they  exhibit  a  freedom  of  touch  which 
could  only  be  the  result  of  discipline  and  training 
under  masters.  But  they  have  a  higher  interest 
than  any  that  attaches  to  them  as  mere  specimens 
of  art ;  for  among  them  are  seen  designs  and  fig- 
ures which  call  forcibly  to  mind  the  well-known  pic- 
ture writings  of  the  Mexicans ;  and  if  these  analo- 
gies are  sustained,  this  building  attached  to  the  walls 
of  the  Tennis-court  stands  an  unimpeachable  wit- 
ness that  the  people  who  inhabited  Mexico  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest  belonged  to  the  same  great 
race  which  furnished  the  builders  of  the  ruined  cit- 
ies in  Yucatan. 

But  to  continue.  At  the  distance  of  five  hundred 
feet  southeast  from  this  rises  the  Castillo,  represent- 


312 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ed  in  the  plate  opposite,  the  first  building  which  we 
saw,  and  from  every  point  of  view  the  grandest  and 
most  conspicuous  object  that  towers  above  the  plain. 
Every  Sunday  the  ruins  are  resorted  to  as  a  prom- 
enade by  the  villagers  of  Piste,  and  nothing  can  sur- 
pass the  picturesque  appearance  of  this  lofty  build- 
ing while  women,  dressed  in  white,  with  red  shawls, 
are  moving  on  the  platform,  and  passing  in  and  out 
at  the  doors.  The  mound  measures  at  the  base  on 
the  north  and  south  sides  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  feet  ten  inches,  and  on  the  east  and  west  sides 
two  hundred  and  two  feet.  It  does  not  face  the 
cardinal  points  exactly,  though  probably  so  intend- 
ed ;  and  in  all  the  buildings,  from  some  cause  not 
easily  accounted  for,  while  one  varies  ten  degrees 
one  way,  that  immediately  adjoining  varies  twelve 
or  thirteen  degrees  in  another.  It  is  built  up  appa- 
rently solid  from  the  plain  to  the  height  of  seventy- 
five  feet.  On  the  west  side  is  a  staircase  thirty- 
seven  feet  wide ;  on  the  north,  being  that  presented 
in  the  engraving,  the  staircase  is  forty-four  feet  wide, 
and  contains  ninety  steps.  On  the  ground  at  the 
foot  of  the  staircase,  forming  a  bold,  striking,  and 
well-conceived  commencement  to  this  lofty  range, 
are  two  colossal  serpents'  heads,  ten  feet  in  length, 
with  mouths  wide  open  and  tongues  protruding,  as 
represented  in  the  following  engraving.  No  doubt 
they  were  emblematic  of  so*ne  religious  belief,  and 
in  the  mi  ds  of  an  imaginative  people,  passing  be- 


COLOSSAL    serpents'  HEADS. 


313 


tween  them  to  ascend  the  steps,  must  have  excited 
feeUngs  of  solemn  awe. 

The  platform  on  the  top  of  the  mound  measures 

Vol.  IL— R  r  27 


314 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


sixty-one  feet  from  north  to  south,  and  sixty-four 
from  east  to  west ;  and  the  building  measures  in 
the  same  directions  forty-three  feet  and  forty-nine. 
Single  doorways  face  the  east,  south,  and  west, 
having  massive  hntels  of  sapote  wood  covered  with 
elaborate  carvings,  and  the  jambs  are  ornamented 
with  sculptured  figures,  one  of  which  is  represented 
in  the  engraving  opposite.  The  sculpture  is  much 
worn,  but  the  head-dress,  ornamented  with  a  phune 
of  feathers,  and  portions  of  the  rich  attire  still  remain. 
The  face  is  well  preserved,  and  has  a  dignified  ap- 
pearance. It  has,  too,  earrings,  and  the  nose  bored, 
which,  according  to  the  historical  accounts,  was  so 
prevalent  a  custom  in  Yucatan,  that  long  after  the 
conquest  the  Spaniards  passed  laws  for  its  prohibi- 
tion. 

All  the  other  jambs  are  decorated  with  sculpture 
of  the  same  general  character,  and  all  open  into  a 
corridor  six  feet  wide,  extending  round  three  sides 
of  the  building. 

The  doorway  facing  the  north,  represented  in  the 
engraving,  presents  a  grander  appearance,  being 
twenty  feet  wide,  and  having  two  short  massive 
columns,  eight  feet  eight  inches  high,  with  two  large 
projections  at  the  base,  entirely  covered  w4th  elab- 
orate sculpture.  This  doorway  gives  access  to  a 
corridor  forty  feet  long  by  six  feet  four  inches  wide 
and  seventeen  feet  high.  In  the  back  wall  of  this 
corridor  is  a  single  doorway,  having  sculptured 
jambs,  over  which  is  a  richly- carved  sapote  beam, 


Fa.ge  3M  Vol.  2. 


SCULPTURED    FIGURES.  COLUMNS.  317 

and  giving  entrance  to  an  apartment  represented  in 
the  engraving  opposite,  nineteen  feet  eight  inches 
long,  twelve  feet  nine  inches  w^ide,  and  seventeen 
feet  high.  In  this  apartment  are  two  square  pillars 
nine  feet  four  inches  high  and  one  foot  ten  inches 
on  each  side,  having  sculptured  figures  on  all  their 
sides,  and  supporting  massive  sapote  beams  covered 
with  the  most  elaborate  carving  of  curious  and  intri- 
cate designs,  but  so  defaced  and  timeworn  that,  in  the 
obscurity  of  the  room,  lighted  only  from  the  door,  it 
^as  extremely  difficult  to  make  them  out.  The 
impression  produced  on  entering  this  lofty  chamber, 
so  entirely  different  from  all  we  had  met  with  be- 
fore, was  perhaps  stronger  than  any  we  had  yet  ex- 
perienced. We  passed  a  whole  day  within  it,  from 
time  to  time  stepping  out  upon  the  platform  to  look 
down  upon  the  ruined  buildings  of  the  ancient  city, 
and  an  immense  field  stretching  on  all  sides  beyond. 

And  from  this  lofty  height  we  saw  for  the  first 
time  groups  of  small  columns,  which,  on  examina- 
tion, proved  to  be  among  the  most  remarkable  and 
unintelligible  remains  we  had  yet  met  with.  They 
stood  in  rows  of  three,  four,  and  five  abreast,  many 
rows  continuing  in  the  same  direction,  when  they 
changed  and  pursued  another.  They  were  very 
low,  many  of  them  only  three  feet  high,  while  the 
highest  were  not  more  than  six  feet,  and  consisted 
of  several  separate  pieces,  like  millstones.  Many 
of  them  had  fallen,  and  in  some  places  they  lie  pros- 
trate in  rows,  all  in  the  same  direction,  as  if  thrown 


318 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


down  intentionally.  I  bad  a  large  number  of  In- 
dians at  work  clearing  tliem,  and  endeavouring  to 
trace  tbeir  direction  to  tbe  end.  In  some  places 
tbej  extended  to  tbe  bases  of  large  mounds,  on 
wbicb  were  ruins  of  buildings  and  colossal  fragments 
of  sculpture,  while  in  otbers  tbey  branched  off  and 
terminated  abruptly.  I  counted  three  hundred  and 
eighty,  and  there  were  many  more  ;  but  so  many 
were  broken,  and  they  lay  so  irregularly,  that  I  gave 
up  counting  them.  They  were  entirely  too  low  to 
have  supported  a  roof  under  which  persons  cou^ 
walk.  The  idea  at  times  suggested  itself  that  they 
had  upheld  a  raised  walk  of  cement,  but  there  were 
no  remains  visible.  The  plate  opposite  will  give 
some  idea  of  these  columns,  with  the  Castillo  and 
part  of  the  Tennis-court  appearing  in  the  background. 
They  enclose  an  area  nearly  four  hundred  feet 
square ;  and,  incomprehensible  as  they  are  in  their 
uses  and  object,  add  largely  to  the  interest  and 
wonder  connected  with  these  ruins. 

I  have  now  closed  my  brief  description  of  the 
ruins  of  Chichen,  having  presented,  with  as  httle 
detail  as  possible,  all  the  principal  buildings  of  this 
ancient  city.  Ruined  mounds  exist,  and  detached 
portions  of  sculpture  strew  the  ground,  exhibiting 
curious  devices,  which  often  arrested  us  in  wander- 
ing among  them,  but  which  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
give.  They  were  the  ruins  which  we  had  had 
longest  m  prospect,  of  which  we  had  formed  the 
largest  expectations,  and  these  expectations  were 


OCCUPATION  OF   THE    SPANIARDS.  321 

not  disappointed,  but  more  than  realized.  And 
they  had  additional  interest  in  our  eyes  from  the 
fact  that  the  broad  hght  of  day  beams  upon  their 
history.  The  first  settlement  of  the  Spaniards  in 
the  interior  was  made  at  this  very  spot. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  in  the  early  part 
of  these  pages  he  accompanied  Don  Francisco 
Montejo  to  Chichen,  or  Chichen  Itza,  as  it  was 
called,  from  the  name  of  the  people  who  occupied 
the  country.  The  site  of  this  place  is  identified 
beyond  all  peradventure  as  that  now  occupied  by 
these  ruins ;  and  the  reader,  perhaps,  will  expect 
from  Don  Francisco  Montejo,  or  the  Spanish  sold- 
iers, some  detailed  account  of  these  extraordinary 
buildings,  so  different  from  any  to  which  the  Span- 
iards were  accustomed.  But,  strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, no  such  account  exists.  The  only  existing 
notice  of  their  journey  from  the  coast  says,  that 
from  a  place  called  Ake  they  set  out,  directing  their 
course  for  Chichen  Itza,  where  they  determined  to 
stop  and  settle,  as  it  appeared  a  proper  place,  on 
account  of  the  strength  of  the  great  buildings  that 
were  there,  for  defence  against  attacks  by  the  In- 
dians. We  do  not  even  learn  whether  these  build- 
ings were  inhabited  or  desolate ;  but  Herrera  says 
that  the  Indians  in  this  region  were  so  numerous, 
that  in  making  the  distribution  which  the  adelanta- 
do  was  allowed  by  the  terms  of  the  royal  grant,  the 
least  number  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  a  Spaniard 
was  two  thousand. 

Vol.  IL— S  s 


322 


INCIDENTS  OF 


TRAVEL. 


Having  regard,  however,  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  occupation  and  abandonment  of  Chichen  by  the 
Spaniards,  their  silence  is  perhaps  not  extraordi- 
nary.   I  have  aheady  mentioned  that  at  this  place 
the  adelantado  made  a  fatal  mistake,  and,  lured  by 
the  glitter  of  gold  in  another  province,  divided  his 
forces,  and  sent  one  of  his  best  captains,  with  fifty 
men,  in  search  of  it.    From  this  time  calamities  and 
dangers  pressed  upon  him ;  altercations  and  con- 
tests began  with  the  Indians  ;  provisions  were  with- 
held, the  Spaniards  w^ere  obliged  to  seek  them  with 
the  sword,  and  all  that  they  ate  was  procured  at  the 
price  of  blood.    At  length  the  Indians  determined 
upon  their  utter  destruction.    Immense  multitudes 
surrounded  the  camp  of  the  Spaniards,  hemming 
them  in  on  all  sides.    The  Spaniards,  seeing  them- 
selves reduced  to  the  necessity  of  perishing  by  hun- 
ger, determined  to  die  bravely  in  the  field,  and  went 
out  to  give  battle.    The  most  sanguinary  fight  they 
had  ever  been  engaged  in  then  took  place.  The 
Spaniards  fought  for  their  hves,  and  the  Indians 
to  remain  masters  of  their  own  soil.    Masses  of  the 
latter  were  killed,  but  great  slaughter  was  made 
among  the  Spaniards,  and,  to  save  the  lives  of  those 
who  remained,  the  adelantado  retreated  to  the  forti- 
fications.   One  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  conquerors 
were  dead  ;  nearly  all  the  rest  were  wounded,  and 
if  the  Indians  had  attacked  them  in  their  retreat 
they  would  have  perished  to  a  man. 

Unable  to  hold  out  any  longer,  they  took  advan- 


/ 


ESCAPE    OF    THE  SPANIARDS. 


323 


tage  of  a  night  when  the  Indians  were  off  their 
guard,  and  making  sallies  in  the  evening  so  as  to 
keep  them  awake,  that  weariness  might  afterward 
overtake  them,  as  soon  as  all  was  still  thej  tied  a 
dog  to  the  clapper  of  a  hell-rope,  putting  some  food 
before  him,  but  out  of  his  reach,  and  with  great 
silence  marched  out  from  the  camp.  The  dog, 
when  he  saw  them  going,  pulled  the  cord  in  order 
to  go  with  them,  and  afterward  to  get  at  the  food. 
The  Indians,  supposing  that  the  Spaniards  were 
sounding  the  alarm,  remained  quiet,  waiting  the  re- 
sult, but  a  httle  before  daylight,  perceiving  that  the 
bell  did  not  cease  ringing,  they  drew  near  the  forti- 
fication, and  found  it  deserted.  In  the  mean  time 
the  Spaniards  escaped  toward  the  coast,  and  in  the 
meager  and  disconnected  accounts  of  their  dangers 
and  escape,  it  is,  perhaps,  not  surprising  that  we  have 
none  whatever  of  the  buildings,  arts,  and  sciences 
of  the  fierce  inhabitants  of  Chichen. 

I  shall  close  with  one  general  remark.  These 
cities  were,  of  course,  not  all  built  at  one  time,  but 
are  the  remains  of  different  epochs.  Chichen, 
though  in  a  better  state  of  preservation  than  most 
of  the  others,  has  a  greater  appearance  of  antiquity ; 
some  of  the  buildings  are  no  doubt  older  than  oth- 
ers, and  long  intervals  may  have  elapsed  between 
the  times  of  their  construction. 

The  Maya  manuscript  places  the  first  discovery  of 
Chichen  within  the  epochs  corresponding  with  the 
time  between  A.D.  360  and  A,D.  432,    From  the 


324 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


words  used,  it  may  be  understood  that  the  discovery 
was  then  made  of  an  actual  existing  city,  but  it  is  a 
fair  construction  of  these  words  to  suppose  that  no- 
thing more  is  meant  than  a  discovery  of  what  the 
words  Chi-chen  import,  viz.,  the  mouths  of  wells, 
having  reference  to  the  two  great  senotes,  the  dis- 
covery of  wells  being,  among  all  primitive  people, 
and  particularly  in  the  dry  region  of  Yucatan,  an 
event  worthy  to  be  noted  in  their  history. 

One  of  these  senotes  I  have  already  mentioned; 
the  other  I  did  not  visit  till  the  afternoon  preceding 
our  departure  from  Chichen.  Setting  out  from  the 
Castillo,  at  some  distance  we  ascended  a  wooded 
elevation,  which  seemed  an  artificial  causeway  lead-, 
ing  to  the  senote.  The  senote  was  the  largest  and 
wildest  we  had  seen  ;  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  forest, 
an  immense  circular  hole,  with  cragged,  perpendic- 
ular sides,  trees  growing  out  of  them  and  overhang- 
ing the  brink,  and  still  as  if  the  genius  of  silence 
reigned  within.  A  hawk  was  sailing  around  it, 
looking  down  into  the  water,  but  without  once  flap- 
ping its  wings.  The  water  was  of  a  greenish  hue. 
A  mysterious  influence  seemed  to  pervade  it,  in  uni- 
son with  the  historical  account  that  the  well  of  Chi- 
chen was  a  place  of  pilgrimage,  and  that  human  vic- 
tims were  thrown  into  it  in  sacrifice.  In  one  place, 
on  the  very  brink,  were  the  remains  of  a  stone  struc- 
ture, probably  connected  with  ancient  superstitious 
rites;  perhaps  the  place  from  which  the  victims 
were  thrown  into  the  dark  well  beneath. 


DEPARTURE    FROM  CHICKEN. 


325 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Departure  from  Chichen.— Village  of  Kaua.—Cuncunul.-— Arrival 
at  Valladolid. — An  Accident. — Appearance  of  the  City. — Don 
Pedro  Baranda's  Cotton  Factory. — A  Countryman. — Mexican 
Revolution. — The  Indians  as  Soldiers. — Adventures  of  a  Demo- 
nio. — Character  of  the  People. — Gamecocks. — Difficulty  of  ob- 
taining Information  in  regard  to  the  Route. — Departure  for  the 
Coast. — Party  of  Indians. — Village  of  Chemax. — Fate  of  Molas 
the  Pirate. — Discouraging  Accounts.— Plans  deranged. — The 
Convent. — The  Cura. — Population  of  the  Village. — Its  early 
History. — Ruins  of  Coba. — Indian  Sepulchre. — Relict. — A  Pen- 
knife found  in  the  Sepulchre. 

On  Tuesday,  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  we  left 
Chichen.  It  was  still  in  the  gray  of  the  morning 
when  we  caught  our  last  view  of  the  great  buildings, 
and  as  we  turned  away  we  felt  that  the  few  short 
months  of  our  journey  had  been  a  time  of  interest 
and  wonder,  such  as  rarely  occurs  in  life.  At  nine 
o'clock  we  reached  the  village  of  Kaua,  six  leagues 
distant,  and  at  half  past  eleven  the  small  village  of 
Cuncunul,  within  an  hour's  ride  of  Valladolid,  and 
there  we  determined  to  dine,  and  wait  for  the  ser- 
vants and  carriers. 

We  remained  till  four  o'clock,  and  then  set  out 
for  Valladolid.  As  far  as  the  suburbs  the  road  was 
broken  and  stony.    We  entered  by  the  great  Church 

28 


Mb 


326  INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 

of  Sisal,  with  convent  and  cloisters  by  its  side,  and 
a  square  in  front,  w^hich,  as  we  rode  across  it,  sound- 
ed hollow  under  our  horses'  feet,  and  underneath 
was  an  immense  senote.  We  passed  up  the  Calle 
de  Sisal,  a  long  street  with  straggUng  houses  on  each 
side,  and  were  directed  to  the  house  of  Don  Pedro 
Barapda,  one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  the  place. 
This  gentleman  had  received  advices  of  our  intend- 
ed visit,  and  had  engaged  for  us  a  house.  As  our 
luggage  did  not  arrive,  he  furnished  us  with  ham- 
mocks, and  in  an  hour  we  were  comfortable  as  in 
our  house  at  Merida.  About  midnight  Albino  came 
clattering  to  the  door,  accompanied  by  only  one 
horse,  carrying  our  hammocks,  and  bringing  the  dis- 
astrous intelligence  that  the  horse  carrying  the  Da- 
guerreotype apparatus  had  run  away,  and  made  a 
general  crash.  Hitherto  the  apparatus  had  always 
been  carried  by  an  Indian,  but  the  road  from  Chi- 
chen  was  so  good  that  we  were  not  afraid  to  trust 
it  on  horseback.  There  was  consolation,  however, 
in  the  thought  that  we  could  not  lose  what  we  had 
already  done  with  its  assistance. 

The  next  morning  we  were  in  no  hurry.  From 
Valladolid  it  was  our  purpose  to  prosecute  our  ex- 
ploration through  a  region  of  which  less  was  known 
than  of  any  we  had  yet  visited.  In  our  short  voy- 
age with  Captain  Fensley  from  the  Laguna  to  Sisal, 
he  had  told  us  of  stone  buildings  on  the  coast,  near 
Cape  Catoche,  which  he  called  old  Spanish  forts. 
These  accounts  were  confirmed  by  others,  and  we 


VALLADOLID. 


327 


at  length  ascertained  what  we  supposed  to  be  the 
fact,  that  in  two  places  on  the  coast  called  Tancar 
and  Tuloom,  what  were  taken  for  Spanish  forts  were 
aboriginal  buildings.  Our  business  at  Valladolid 
was  to  make  arrangements  for  reaching  them,  and 
at  the  same  time  for  coasting  round  Cape  Catoche, 
and  visiting  the  Island  of  Cozumel.  We  had  been 
told  that  at  Valladolid  we  should  be  able  to  procure 
all  necessary  information  about  the  ruins  on  the 
coast ;  but  we  could  not  even  learn  the  w  ay  to 
reach  them ;  and  by  the  advice  of  Don  Pedro  Ba- 
randa  we  determined  to  remain  a  few  days,  until  a 
person  who  was  expected,  and  who  was  familiar  with 
that  region,  should  arrive. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  few  days  did  not  hang  heavy 
on  our  hands  in  Valladolid.  The  city,  which  was 
founded  at  an  early  period  of  the  conquest,  contains 
about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  distin- 
guished as  the  residence  of  the  vicar-general  of  the 
church  of  Yucatan. 

It  was  built  in  a  style  commensurate  with  the 
lofty  pretensions  of  the  conquerors,  and,  like  other 
cities  of  Spanish  America,  bears  the  marks  of  an- 
cient grandeur,  but  is  now  going  to  decay.  The 
roads  leading  to  it  and  the  very  streets  are  over- 
grown with  bushes.  The  parochial  church  still 
stands,  the  principal  object  in  the  plaza,  and  the 
churches  of  San  Servacio,  San  Juan  De  Dios,  San- 
ta Lucia,  Santa  Ana,  La  Virgen  de  la  Candelaria, 
and  the  Church  of  Sisal,  the  largest  buildings  in  the 
city,  are  all  more  or  less  dilapidated. 


328  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

The  same  melancholy  tokens  are  visible  in  the 
private  houses.  In  the  principal  street  stand  large 
buildings,  roofless,  w^ithout  v^indows  or  doors,  and 
w^ith  grass  and  bushes  growing  from  crevices  in  the 
walls ;  while  here  and  there,  as  if  in  mockery  of 
human  pride,  a  tottering  front  has  blazoned  upon  it 
the  coat  of  arms  of  some  proud  Castilian,  distin- 
guished among  the  daring  soldiers  of  the  conquest, 
whose  race  is  now  entirely  unknown. 

Among  these  time-shattered  buildings  stood  one 
in  striking  contrast,  remarkable  for  its  neat,  compact, 
and  business-like  appearance ;  and  in  that  country 
it  seemed  a  phenomenon.  It  was  a  cotton  factory 
belonging  to  Don  Pedro  Baranda,  the  first  estab- 
lished in  the  Mexican  Republic,  and  for  that  reason, 
as  emblematic  of  the  dawn  of  a  great  manufacturing 
system,  called  the  "  Aurora  de  la  Industria  Yucate- 
ca ;"  and,  what  gave  it  a  greater  interest  in  our 
eyes,  it  was  under  the  direction  of  that  young  coun- 
tryman and  fellow-citizen,  Don  Juan  Burque,  or  Mr. 
John  Burke,  to  whom  I  before  referred  as  the  first 
stranger  who  visited  the  ruins  of  Chichen.  It 
seemed  strange  to  meet  in  this  unknown,  half- Span- 
ish and  half-Indian  town  a  citizen  of  New- York. 
It  was  seven  years  the  day  of  our  arrival  since  he 
came  to  Valladolid.  He  had  almost  lost  the  facili- 
ty of  expressing  himself  in  his  native  tongue,  but  in 
dress,  manner,  appearance,  and  feelings  he  was  un- 
changed, and  different  from  all  around  him  ;  and  it 
was  gratifying  to  us  to  know  that  throughout  that 


DON    PEDRO  BARANDA. 


329 


neighbourhood  it  was  no  small  recommendation  to 
be  the  countryman  of  "  the  engineer." 

Don  Pedro  Baranda,  the  proprietor  of  the  factory, 
began  hfe  in  the  Spanish  navy ;  at  fifteen  he  was  a 
midshipman  on  board  the  flag-ship  of  the  Spanish 
admiral  at  the  memorable  battle  of  Trafalgar,  and, 
though  not  unwounded,  was  one  of  the  few  who 
escaped  the  terrible  slaughter  of  that  day.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war  of  Mexican  independ- 
ence he  was  still  in  the  Spanish  navy,  but,  a  Mexi- 
can by  birth,  joined  the  cause  of  his  counrrymen,  and 
became  admiral  of  the  fleet,  which  he  commanded  at 
the  taking  of  the  Castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  the 
closing  act  of  the  successful  revolution.  After  this, 
he  resigned  and  went  to  Campeachy,  his  native 
place,  but,  being  in  delicate  health,  removed  to 
Valladolid,  which,  in  the  absence  of  all  other  rec- 
ommendations, was  celebrated  for  the  salubrity  of 
its  climate.  He  had  held  the  highest  offices  of  hon- 
our and  trust  in  the  state,  and,  although  his  party 
was  now  down  and  his  political  influence  lost,  he 
had  fallen  with  the  respect  of  all,  and,  what  was  a 
rare  thing  among  the  political  animosities  of  that 
country,  the  actual  government,  his  successful  oppo- 
nents, gave  us  letters  of  introduction  to  him. 

Retired  from  office,  and  unable  to  endure  idleness, 
the  spontaneous  growth  of  cotton  around  Vallado- 
lid induced  him  to  undertake  the  establishment  of  a 
cotton  factory.  He  had  great  difficulties  to  contend 
with,  and  these  began  with  the  erection  of  the  build- 

Vol.  H.— T  t 


330 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ing.  He  had  no  architect  to  consult,  and  planned 
and  constructed  it  himself.  Twice  the  arches  gave 
w^ay,  and  the  whole  building  came  down.  The 
machinery  was  imported  from  the  United  States, 
accompanied  by  four  engineers,  two  of  whom  died 
in  the  country.  In  1835,  when  Mr.  Burke  arrived, 
the  factory  had  yielded  but  seventy  pieces  of  cotton, 
and  eighteen  yards  had  cost  eight  thousand  dollars. 
At  this  time  the  office  of  acting  governor  of  the 
state  devolved  upon  him,  but  by  a  poHtical  revolu- 
tion he  was  deposed ;  and  while  his  workmen  were 
celebrating  the  grito  de  Dolores,  which  announced 
the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  revolution,  they  were 
arrested  and  thrown  in  prison,  and  the  factory  was 
stopped  for  six  months.  It  was  afterward  stopped 
twice  by  a  failure  of  the  cotton  crop,  and  once  by 
famine ;  and  all  the  time  he  had  to  struggle  against 
the  introduction  of  smuggled  goods  from  Belize  ;  but, 
in  spite  of  all  impediments,  it  had  gone  on,  and  was 
then  in  successful  operation. 

In  walking  about  the  yard,  Don  Pedro  led  us  to  the 
wood-pile,  and  showed  us  that  the  logs  were  all  split 
into  four  pieces.  This  wood  is  brought  by  the  In- 
dians in  back-loads  at  a  medio  per  load,  and  Don  Pe- 
dro told  us  that  at  first  he  had  requested  the  Indians 
not  to  split  the  logs,  as  he  would  rather  have  them 
entire,  but  they  had  been  used  to  doing  so,  and  could 
not  alter  their  habits ;  yet  these  same  Indians,  by 
discipline  and  instruction,  had  become  adequate  to 
all  the  business  of  the  factory. 


THE    INDIANS    AS  SOLDIERS. 


331 


The  city  of  Valladolid  had  some  notoriety,  as  be- 
ing the  place  at  which  the  first  blow  was  struck  in 
the  revolution  now  in  progress  against  the  domin- 
ion of  Mexico,  and  also  as  being  the  residence  of 
General  Iman,  under  whom  that  blow  was  struck. 
The  immediate  consequence  was  the  expulsion  of 
the  Mexican  garrison ;  but  there  was  another,  more 
remote  and  of  more  enduring  importance.  There, 
for  the  first  time,  the  Indians  were  brought  out  in 
arms.  Utterly  ignorant  of  the  political  relations  be- 
tween Mexico  and  Yucatan,  they  came  in  from  their 
ranchos  and  milpas  under  a  promise  by  General 
Iman  that  their  capitation  tax  should  be  remitted. 
After  the  success  of  the  first  outbreak  the  govern- 
ment endeavoured  to  avoid  the  fulfilment  of  this 
promise,  but  was  compelled  to  compromise  by  remit- 
ting the  tax  upon  w^omen,  and  the  Indians  still  look 
forward  to  emancipation  from  the  whole.  What 
the  consequences  may  be  of  finding  themselves,  after 
ages  of  servitude,  once  more  in  the  possession  of 
arms,  and  in  increasing  knowledge  of  their  physical 
strength,  is  a  question  of  momentous  import  to  the 
people  of  that  country,  the  solution  of  which  no 
man  can  foretell. 

And  Valladolid  had  been  the  theatre  of  stranger 
scenes  in  ancient  times.  According  to  historical  ac- 
counts, it  was  once  haunted  by  a  demonio  of  the 
worst  kind,  called  a  demonio  parlero,  a  loquacious 
or  talking  devil,  who  held  discourse  with  all  that 
wished  at  night,  speaking  like  a  parrot,  answering  all 


332 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


questions  put  to  him,  touching  a  guitar,  playing  the 
castanets,  dancing  and  laughing,  but  without  sufifer- 
ing  himself  to  be  seen. 

Afterward  he  took  to  throwing  stones  in  garrets, 
and  eggs  at  the  women  and  girls,  and,  says  the  pious 
doctor  Don  Sanchez  de  Aguilar,  "  an  aunt  of  mine, 
vexed  with  him,  once  said  to  him, '  Go  away  from  this 
house,  devil,'  and  gave  him  a  blow  in  the  face  which 
left  the  nose  redder  than  cochineal."  He  became  so 
troublesome  that  the  cura  went  to  one  of  the  houses 
which  he  frequented  to  exorcise  him,  but  in  the  mean 
time  El  Demonio  went  to  the  cura's  house  and 
played  him  a  trick,  after  which  he  w^ent  to  the  house 
where  the  cura  was  waiting,  and  when  the  latter  went 
away,  told  the  trick  he  had  been  playing.  After  this 
he  began  slandering  people,  and  got  the  whole  town 
at  swords'  points  to  such  an  extent  that  it  reached 
the  ears  of  the  bishop  at  Merida,  who  forbade  speak- 
ing to  him  under  pain  of  heavy  spiritual  punishments, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  vecinos  abstained  from 
any  communication  with  him ;  at  first  the  demonio 
fell  to  weeping  and  complaining,  then  made  more 
noise  than  ever,  and  finally  took  to  burning  houses. 
The  vecinos  sought  Divine  assistance,  and  the  cura, 
after  a  severe  tussle,  drove  him  out  of  the  town. 

Thirty  or  forty  years  afterward,  "  when  I,"  says 
the  doctor  Don  Sanchez  de  Aguilar,  "  was  cura  of 
the  said  city,  this  demonio  returned  to  infest  some 
of  my  annexed  villages,  and  in  particular  one  vil- 
lage, Yalcoba,  coming  at  midnight,  or  at  one  in  the 


ADVENTURES    OF    A    DEMONIO.  333 

afternoon,  with  a  great  whirlwind,  dust,  and  noise,  as 
of  a  hurricane  ;  stones  swept  over  the  whole  pueblo  ; 
and  thoi:(^h  the  Indians  promptly  put  out  the  fires 
of  their  kitchens,  it  did  not  avail  them,  for  from  the 
flames  with  which  this  demonio  is  tormented  pro- 
ceeded flashes  like  nightly  comets  or  wandering 
stars,  which  set  fire  to  two  or  three  houses  at  once, 
and  spread  till  there  were  not  people  enough  to  put 
out  the  fire,  when  I,  being  sent  for  to  come  and 
drive  it  away,  conjured  this  demon,  and,  with  the 
faith  and  zeal  that  God  gave  me,  commanded  him 
not  to  enter  that  village  ;  upon  which  the  fires  and 
the  whirlwinds  ceased,  to  the  glory  and  honour  of 
the  Divine  Majesty,  which  gave  such  power  to  the 
priests."  Driven  out  here,  this  demonio  returned  to 
infest  the  village  of  Valladolid  with  new  burnings ; 
but  by  putting  crosses  in  all  the  hills  this  evil  ceased. 

For  generations  this  demonio  has  not  been  heard 
of,  but  it  is  known  that  he  can  take  any  shape  he 
pleases  ;  and  I  fear  me  much  that  he  has  at  last  en- 
tered the  padres,  and,  taking  advantage  of  that  so- 
called  amiable  weakness  which  I  before  hinted  at 
in  confidence  to  the  reader,  is  leading  them  along 
seeming  paths  of  roses,  in  which  they  do  not  yet 
feel  the  thorns. 

I  have  none  but  kind  feelings  toward  the  padres, 
but,  either  as  a  cause  or  in  consequence  of  the  as- 
cendency of  this  demonio,  the  people  of  Valladohd 
seemed  the  worst  we  had  met  with,  being,  in  general, 
lazy,  gambling,  and  good  for  nothing.    It  is  a  com- 


\ 


334 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


mon  expression,  "  Hay  mucho  vago  en  Valladolid," 
"  There  are  many  idlers  in  Valladolid  and  we 
saw  more  gamecocks  tied  by  the  leg  along  the  walls 
of  the  houses  than  we  had  seen  in  any  other  place 
we  visited.  Part  of  om*  business  was  to  repair  our 
wardrobe  and  procure  a  pair  of  shoes,  but  neither 
of  these  undertakings  could  we  accomplish.  There 
were  no  shoes  ready  made,  and  no  artist  would 
promise  to  make  a  pair  in  less  than  a  week,  which 
we  learned  might  be  interpreted  as  meaning  at  least 
two. 

In  the  mean  time  we  were  making  inquiries  and 
arrangements  for  our  journey  to  the  coast.  It  is  al- 
most impossible  to  conceive  what  difficulty  we  had 
in  learning  anything  definite  concerning  the  road 
we  ought  to  take.  Don  Pedro  Baranda  had  a 
manuscript  map,  made  by  himself,  which,  however, 
he  did  not  represent  as  very  correct ;  and  the  place 
on  the  coast  which  we  wished  to  visit  was  not  laid 
down  on  it  at  all.  There  were  but  two  persons  in 
the  town  who  could  give  us  any  information,  and 
what  they  gave  was  most  unsatisfactory.  Our  first 
plan  was  to  go  to  the  Bay  of  Ascension,  where  we 
were  advised  we  could  hire  a  canoa  for  our  coast 
voyage,  but  fortunately,  by  the  advice  of  Don  Pedro 
Baranda,  we  were  saved  from  this  calamitous  step, 
which  would  have  subjected  us  to  a  long  and  bootless 
journey,  and  the  necessity  of  returning  to  Vallado- 
lid without  accomplishing  anything,  which  might 
have  disheartened  us  from  attempting  to  reach  the 


DEPARTURE    FOR    THE    COAST.  335 

coast  in  another  direction.  Upon  the  information 
we  received,  we  determined  on  going  to  the  village 
of  Chemax,  from  which,  we  were  advised,  there 
was  a  direct  road  to  Tancah,  where  a  boat  was  on 
the  stocks,  and  probably  then  finished,  which  we 
could  procure  for  a  voyage  down  the  coast. 

Before  our  departure  Doctor  Cabot  performed 
an  operation  for  strabismus,  under  circumstances 
peculiarly  gratifying  to  us,  and,  with  the  satisfac- 
tion arising  from  its  complete  success,  on  Satur- 
day, after  an  early  dinner,  we  mounted  for  our 
journey  to  the  coast,  going  first  to  the  house  of 
Don  Pedro  Baranda,  and  to  the  factory  to  bid 
farewell  to  Mr.  Burke.  The  road  was  broad,  and 
had  been  lately  opened  for  carretas  and  calesas. 
On  the  way  we  met  a  large  straggling  party  of  In- 
dians, returning  from  a  hunting  expedition  in  the 
forests  along  the  seacoast.  Naked,  armed  with 
long  guns,  and  with  deer  and  wild  boars  slung  on 
their  backs,  their  aspect  was  the  most  truculent  of 
any  people  we  had  seen.  They  were  some  of  the 
Indians  who  had  risen  at  the  call  of  General  Iman, 
and  they  seemed  ready  at  any  moment  for  battle. 

It  was  some  time  after  dark  when  we  reached 
the  village.  The  outline  of  the  church  was  visible 
through  the  darkness,  and  beside  it  was  the  con- 
vent, with  a  light  streaming  from  the  door.  The 
cura  was  sitting  at  a  table  surrounded  by  the  ofii- 
cials  of  the  village,  who  started  at  the  clatter  of  our 
horses ;  and  when  we  appeared  in  the  doorway,  if 


336 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


a  firebrand  had  been  thrown  among  them  they  could 
not  have  been  more  astounded.  The  village  was 
the  Ultima  Thule  of  population,  the  last  between 
Valladolid  and  Tancah,  and  the  surprise  caused  by 
our  appearance  did  not  subside  when  we  told  them 
that  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  latter.  They  all 
told  us  that  it  was  impossible.  Tancah  w^as  a  mere 
rancho,  seventy  miles  distant,  and  the  whole  inter- 
mediate country  was  a  dense  forest.  There  was 
no  road  to  it,  and  no  communication  except  by  an 
overgrown  footpath.  It  was  utterly  impossible  to 
get  through  without  sending  Indians  before  to  open 
a  road  all  the  way  ;  and,  to  crown  all,  we  would  be 
obliged  to  sleep  in  the  woods,  exposed  to  mosche- 
toes,  garrapatas,  and  rain,  which  last,  in  our  uncer- 
tain state,  we  regarded  with  real  apprehension. 

The  rancho  was  established  by  one  Molas,  a 
smuggler  and  pirate,  who,  while  under  sentence  of 
death  in  Merida,  escaped  from  prison,  and  estab- 
lished himself  at  this  lonely  point,  out  of  the  reach 
of  justice.  Soldiers  had  been  sent  from  Merida  to 
arrest  him,  who,  after  advancing  as  far  as  Chemax, 
turned  back.  In  consequence  of  new  political  ex- 
citements, change  of  government,  and  lapse  of  time, 
the  persecution,  as  it  is  called,  against  poor  Molas 
had  ceased ;  and,  having  an  attack  of  sickness,  he 
ventured  up  from  the  coast,  and  made  his  appearance 
in  the  village,  to  procure  such  medical  aid  as  it  af- 
forded. No  one  molested  him ;  and  after  remain- 
ing a  while  he  set  out  to  return  on  foot  with  a  sin- 


PLANS  DERANGED. 


337 


gle  Indian,  but,  worn  down  by  the  fatigues  of  the 
journey,  while  yet  eight  leagues  from  the  rancho  he 
died  upon  the  road. 

These  accounts  came  upon  us  most  unexpected- 
ly, and  deranged  all  our  plans.  And  there  was  no- 
thing that  more  strikingly  exhibited  the  ignorance 
•  prevailing  in  that  country  in  regard  to  the  roads, 
than  the  fact  that,  after  diligent  and  careful  inquiries 
at  Valladolid,  we  had  set  out  upon  positive  informa- 
tion that  we  could  ride  directly  through  to  Tancah, 
and  had  made  all  our  arrangements  for  doing  so, 
whereas  at  six  leagues'  distance  we  found  ourselves 
brought  to  a  dead  stand. 

But  turning  back  formed  no  part  of  our  delibera- 
tions. The  only  question  was  whether  we  should 
undertake  the  journey  on  foot.  The  mere  walking 
none  of  us  regarded ;  in  fact,  it  would  have  been  a 
pleasant  change,  for  there  was  no  satisfaction  in 
stumbhng  on  horseback  along  those  stony  roads ; 
but  our  servants  foresaw  a  great  accumulation  of 
their  labours,  and  the  risk  of  exposure  to  rain  was 
a  serious  consideration ;  moreover,  I  had  one  little 
difficulty,  which,  however,  was  really  a  serious  one, 
and  could  not  be  remedied  except  by  a  delay,  of  sev- 
eral days,  in  the  want  of  shoes,  those  on  my  feet  be- 
ing quite  incapable  of  holding  out  for  such  a  walk. 
Our  alternative  was  to  go  to  the  port  of  Yalahao, 
which,  the  reader  will  see  by  the  map,  is  almost  at 
right  angles  from  Tancah,  and  thence  take  a  canoa. 
This  would  subject  us  to  the  necessity  of  two  voy- 

VoL.  IL— Uu  29 


338 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ages  along  the  coast,  going  and  returning,  and  would 
require,  perhaps,  a  fortnight  to  reach  Tancah,  which 
we  had  expected  to  arrive  at  in  three  days;  but 
there  were  villages  and  ranchos  on  the  road,  and 
the  chance  of  a  canoa  was  so  much  greater  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  we  were  glad  of  such  an 
alternative.  • 

In  the  midst  of  the  vexation  attending  this  de- 
rangement of  our  plan,  we  were  cheered  by  the  com- 
fortable appearance  of  the  convent,  and  the  warm 
reception  given  us  by  the  cura  Garcia.  The  sala 
was  furnished  with  pictures  and  engravings  from 
Scott's  novels,  made  for  the  Spanish  market,  with 
Spanish  lettering ;  looking-glasses,  with  gilt  frames, 
from  El  Norte,  and  a  large  hand  organ,  horribly  out 
of  tune,  which,  in  compliment  to  us,  the  cura  set  to 
grinding  out  "  God  save  the  King !"  And,  besides 
all  this,  the  smiUng  faces  of  women  were  peeping  at 
us  through  the  doors,  who  at  length,  unable  to  re- 
press their  curiosity,  crowded  each  other  into  the 
room.  The  cura  sat  with  us  till  a  late  hour,  and 
when  we  retired  followed  us  to  our  room,  and  stood 
by  us  till  we  got  into  our  hammocks.  His  cura- 
cy extended  to  the  coast.  The  ruins  which  we  pro- 
posed visiting  were  within  it,  but  he  had  never  vis- 
ited that  part,  and  now  talked  seriously  of  going 
with  us. 

The  next  day  Dr.  Cabot  was  taken  with  a  fever, 
which  the  cura  said  he  was  almost  thankful  for, 
and  we  were  glad  of  an  excuse  for  passing  the  day 


THE    CURA  GARCIA. 


339 


with  him.  It  was  Sunday,  and,  dressed  in  his  black 
gown,  I  never  saw  a  priest  of  more  respectable  ap- 
pearance. And  he  was  a  politician  as  well  as  priest. 
He  had  been  a  meaiber  of  the  convention  that 
formed  the  constitution  of  the  state,  had  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  the  discussions,  and  distinguished 
himself  by  his  strong  and  manly  eloquence.  The 
constitution  which  he  had  assisted  in  forming  de- 
barred priests  from  holding  civil  offices,  but  through 
the  loophole  of  his  retreat  he  looked  out  upon  the 
politics  of  the  world.  The  relations  between  Mex- 
ico and  Texas  were  at  that  time  most  interesting  to 
him  ;  he  had  received  a  Merida  paper,  containing  a 
translation  in  full  of  President  Houston's  inaugural 
address  ;  and  often  repeated,  "  not  a  dollar  in  the 
treasury,  and  ten  to  fifteen  milhons  of  debt."  He 
predicted  the  downfall  of  that  republic,  and  said  that 
the  conquering  army  in  Texas  would  proclaim  San- 
ta Ana  emperor,  march  back  upon  the  capital,  and 
place  the  diadem  upon  his  head! 

Amid  the  distraction  and  civil  war  that  devasta- 
ted his  own  country,  he  had  looked  to  ours  as  the 
model  of  a  republic,  and  gave  us  many  though  not 
very  accurate  details  ;  and  it  seemed  strange  in  this 
little  interior  Indian  town  to  hear  an  account  of 
late  proceedings  in  our  own  capital,  and  to  find  one 
taking  so  deep  an  interest  in  them. 

But  the  cura  had  more  accurate  knowledge  in 
regard  to  matters  nearer  home.    The  village  of 


340 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Chemax  contains  nearly  ten  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  was  in  existence  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 
Four  years  after  the  foundation  of  Merida  the  In- 
dians in  the  neighbourhood  of  Valladolid  formed  a 
conspiracy  to  destroy  the  Spaniards,  and  the  first 
blow  was  struck  at  Chemax,  where  they  caught  two 
brothers,  whom  they  put  upon  crosses,  and  shot  at 
from  a  distance  till  they  were  covered  with  arrows. 
At  sunset  they  took  down  the  bodies,  dismembered 
them,  and  sent  the  heads  and  limbs  to  different  pla- 
ces, to  show  that  vengeance  was  begun. 

The  curacy  of  Chemax  comprehended  within  its 
jurisdiction  all  between  it  and  the  sea.  The  cura 
had  drawn  up  a  report,  by  order  of  the  government, 
of  the  condition  and  character  of  the  region  under 
his  charge,  and  its  objects  of  curiosity  and  inter- 
est, from  which  I  copied  the  following  notice  in 
regard  to  ruins  known  by  the  name  of  Coba. 

"  In  the  eastern  part  of  this  village,  at  eight 
leagues'  distance,  and  fourteen  from  the  head  of  the 
district,  near  one  of  the  three  lagunas,  is  a  building 
that  the  indigenes  call  Monjas.  It  consists  of  va- 
rious  ranges  of  two  stories,  all  covered  with  arches, 
closed  with  masonry  of  rude  stone,  and  each  piece 
is  of  six  square  yards.  Its  interior  pavement  is  pre- 
served entire,  and  on  the  walls  of  one,  in  the  sec- 
ond story,  are  some  painted  figures  in  different  atti- 
tudes, showing,  without  doubt,  according  to  the  sup- 
position of  the  natives,  that  these  are  the  remains 
of  that  detestable  worship  so  commonly  found. 


INDIAN  RELICS. 


341 


From  this  edifice  there  is  a  calzada,  or  paved  road, 
of  ten  or  twelve  yards  in  vs^idth,  running  to  the 
southeast  to  a  hmit  that  has  not  been  discovered 
w^ith  certainty,  but  some  aver  that  it  goes  in  the  di- 
rection of  Chichen  Itza." 

The  most  interesting  part  of  this,  in  our  eyes, 
was  the  calzada,  or  paved  road,  but  the  information 
from  others  in  the  village  did  not  increase  our  in- 
terest. The  cura  himself  had  never  visited  these 
ruins  ;  they  were  all  buried  in  forest ;  there  was  no 
rancho  or  other  habitation  near  ;  and  as  our  time 
was  necessarily  to  be  much  prolonged  by  the  change 
we  were  obhged  to  make,  we  concluded  that  it  would 
not  be  advisable  to  go  and  see  them. 

But  the  cura  had  much  more  interesting  infor- 
mation. On  his  own  hacienda  of  Kantunile,  sixteen 
leagues  nearer  the  coast,  were  several  mounds,  in 
one  of  which,  while  excavating  for  stone  to  be  used 
in  building,  the  Indians  had  discovered  a  sepulchre 
containing  three  skeletons,  which,  according  to  the 
cura,  were  those  of  a  man,  a  woman,  and  a  child, 
but  all,  unfortunately,  so  much  decayed  that  in  at- 
tempting to  remove  them  they  fell  to  pieces. 

At  the  head  of  the  skeletons  were  two  large  va- 
ses of  terra  cotta,  with  covers  of  the  same  material. 
In  one  of  these  was  a  large  collection  of  Indian  or- 
naments, beads,  stones,  and  two  carved  shells,  which 
are  represented  in  the  following  engraving.  The 
carving  on  the  shells  is  in  bas-rehef,  and  very  perfect ; 
the  subject  is  the  same  in  both,  and  the  reader  will 


342 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


observe  that,  though  differing  in  detail,  it  is  of  the 
same  type  with  the  figure  on  the  Ticul  vase,  and 
those  sculpiured  on  the  wall  at  Chichen.  The  oth- 
er vase  was  filled  nearly  to  the  top  with  arrow-heads, 
not  of  flint,  but  of  obsidian  ;  and  as  there  are  no  vol- 
canoes in  Yucatan  from  which  obsidian  can  be  pro- 


A  PENKNIFE. 


343 


cured,  the  discovery  of  these  proves  intercourse  with 
the  volcanic  regions  of  Mexico.  But,  besides  these, 
and  more  interesting  and  important  tlian  all,  on  the 
top  of  these  arrow-heads  lay  a  penknife  with  a  horn 
handle.  All  these  the  cura  had  in  his  possession, 
carefully  preserved  in  a  bag,  which  he  emptied  on 
a  table  for  our  examination ;  and,  as  may  be  suppo- 
sed, interesting  as  the  other  memorials  were,  the 
penknife  attracted  our  particular  attention.  The 
horn  handle  was  much  decayed,  and  the  iron  or 
steel  was  worn  and  rusted.  This  penknife  was  nev- 
er made  in  the  country.  How  came  it  in  an  In- 
dian sepulchre?  I  answer,  when  the  fabrics  of  Eu- 
rope and  this  country  came  together,  the  white  man 
and  the  red  had  met.  The  figures  carved  on  the 
shells,  those  little  perishable  memorials,  accidentally 
disinterred,  identify  the  crumbling  bones  in  that 
sepulchre  with  the  builders  of  Chichen,  of  those  mys- 
terious cities  that  now  lie  shrouded  in  the  forest;  and 
those  bones  were  laid  in  their  grave  after  a  penknife 
had  found  its  way  into  the  country.  Speculation 
and  ingenuity  may  assign  other  causes,  but,  in  my 
opinion,  the  inference  is  reasonable,  if  not  irresistible, 
that  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  and  afterward,  the 
Indians  were  actually  living  in  and  occupying  those 
very  cities  on  whose  great  ruins  we  now  gaze  with 
wonder.  A  penknife — one  of  the  petty  presents  dis- 
tributed by  the  Spaniards — reached  the  hands  of  a 
cacique,  who,  far  removed  from  the  capital,  died  in 
his  native  town,  and  was  buried  with  the  rites  and 


344 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ceremonies  transmitted  by  his  fathers.  A  penknife 
is  at  this  day  an  object  of  curiosity  and  admiration 
among  the  Indians,  and,  perhaps,  in  the  whole  of 
Yucatan  there  is  not  one  in  the  hands  of  a  native. 
At  the  time  of  the  conquest  it  was  doubtless  con- 
sidered precious,  worthy  of  being  buried  with  the 
heirlooms  of  its  owner,  and  of  accompanying  him  to 
the  world  of  spirits.  I  was  extremely  anxious  to 
procure  these  memorials.  The  cura  said,  with  Span- 
ish courtesy,  that  they  were  mine  ;  but  he  evidently 
attached  great  value  to  them,  and,  much  as  I  desired 
it,  I  could  not,  with  any  propriety,  take  them. 


JOURNEt    TO  YALAHAO. 


345 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Departure. — Journey  to  Yalahao. — Stony  Road. — Arrival  at  the 
Port.  —  The  Sea. — Appearance  Of  the  Village.  —  Bridge. — 
Springs.  —  Pirates. — Scarcity  of  Ramon.  —  The  Castillo.  —  Its 
Garrison. — Don  Vicente  Albino. — An  Incident. — Arrangements 
for  a  Voyage  down  the  Coast. — Embarcation. — The  Canoa  El 
Sol. — Objects  of  the  Voyage. — Point  Moscheto. — Point  Fran- 
ces.— An  Indian  Fisherman. — Cape  Catoche. — The  first  Land- 
ing-place of  the  Spaniards.  —  Island  of  Contoy.  —  Sea-birds. — 
Island  of  Mugeres. — Lafitte. — Harpooning  a  Turtle. — Different 
Kinds  of  Turtle.— Island  of  Kancune. — Point  of  Nesuc. — Sharks. 
— Moschetoes.  —  Bay  of  San  Miguel.  —  Island  of  Cozumel.  — 
Rancho  established  by  the  Pirate  Molas.— Don  Vicente  Albino. 
— Mr.  George  Fisher. — Piratical  Aspect  of  the  Island. — A  Well. 
— Plantation  of  Cotton. — Stroll  along  the  Shore. 

On  Monday,  the  fourth  of  April,  we  took  leave 
of  the  warm-hearted  cura,  and  set  out  for  our  new 
point  of  destination,  the  port  of  Yalahao. 

I  am  obliged  to  hurry  over  our  journey  to  the 
coast.  The  road  was  lonely  and  rugged,  mostly  a 
complete  crust  of  stone,  broken  and  sharp  pointed, 
which  severely  tried  and  almost  wore  out  our  hor- 
ses. It  was  desperately  hot ;  we  had  no  view  ex- 
cept the  narrow  path  before  us,  and  we  stumbled 
along,  wondering  that  such  a  stony  surface  could 
support  such  a  teeming  vegetation. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  we  were  ap- 
proaching the  port.  When  within  about  a  league 
of  it,  we  came  out  upon  a  low,  swampy  plain,  with 

Vol.  IL— X  x 


346 


INCIDENTS    OF  'TRAVEL. 


a  grove  of  cocoanut  trees  at  a  long  distance  before 
us,  the  only  objects  rising  above  the  level  surface,  in- 
dicating, and,  at  the  same  time,  hiding,  the  port  of 
Yalahao.  The  road  lay  over  a  causew^ay,  then  wet 
and  slippery,  with  numerous  holes,  and  sometimes 
completely  overflowed.  On  each  side  was  a  sort 
of  creek,  and  in  the  plain  were  large  pools  of  wa- 
ter. With  a  satisfaction  perhaps  greater  than  we 
had  experienced  in  our  whole  journey,  we  reached 
the  port,  and,  after  a  long  absence,  came  down 
once  more  upon  the  shore  of  the  sea. 

The  village  was  a  long,  straggling  street  of  huts, 
elevated  a  few  feet  above  the  washing  of  the  waves. 
In  passing  along  it,  for  the  first  time  in  the  coun- 
try we  came  to  a  bridge  crossing  a  brook,  with  a 
fine  stream  of  running  water  in  sight  on  the  left. 
Our  horses  seemed  as  much  astonished  as  ourselves, 
and  we  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  them  over  the 
bridge.  On  the  shore  was  another  spring  bubbling 
within  reach  of  the  waves. 

We  rode  on  to  the  house  of  Don  Juan  Bautista, 
to  whom  we  had  a  letter  from  the  cura  of  Chemax, 
but  he  had  gone  to  his  rancho.  His  house  and  one 
other  were  the  only  two  in  the  place  built  of  stone, 
and  the  materials  had  been  obtained  from  the  ruins 
of  Zuza,  standing  on  his  rancho,  two  leagues  dis- 
tant on  the  coast. 

We  returned  through  the  village  to  a  house  be- 
longing to  our  friend  the  cura,  better  than  any  ex- 
cept the  two  stone  houses,  and  in  situation  finer  than 


VILLAGE    OF  YALAHAO. 


347 


these.  It  stood  on  the  very  edge  of  the  baii^,  so 
near  the  sea  that  the  v^aves  had  undermined  part  of 
the  long  piazza  in  front ;  but  the  interior  w^as  in 
good  condition,  and  a  v^^onian  tenant  in  possession. 
We  were  about  negotiating  with  her  for  the  occu- 
pation of  a  part ;  but  wherever  we  went  we  seemed 
to  be  the  terror  of  the  sex,  and  before  we  had  fairly 
made  a  beginning,  she  abandoned  the  house  and  left 
us  in  quiet  possession.  In  an  hour  we  were  com- 
pletely domesticated,  and  toward  evening  we  sat  in 
the  doorway  and  looked  out  upon  the  sea.  The 
waves  were  roUing  almost  to  our  door,  and  Doctor 
Cabot  found  a  new  field  opened  to  him  in  flocks  of 
large  sea-fowl  strutting  along  the  shore  and  scream- 
ing over  our  heads. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  this  place  as  taken 
from  the  shore.  Our  house  appears  in  the  left  cor- 
ner, and  at  a  distance  down  the  coast  is  seen  an  an- 
cient mound.  Cut  off,  to  a  great  extent,  from  com- 
munication with  the  interior,  or,  at  least,  connected 
wdth  it  only  by  a  long  and  toilsome  road,  its  low  huts 
buried  among  the  cocoanut  trees,  but  few  people 
moving  about  it,  canoas  in  the  offing,  and  a  cannon 
half  buried  on  the  shore,  it  seemed,  what  it  was  no- 
torious for  having  been,  the  haunt  of  pirates  in  days 
gone  by. 

In  our  journey  to  the  coast  we  had  entered  a  re- 
gion of  novel  and  exciting  interest.  On  the  road 
we  had  heard  of  quondam  pirates,  having  small  su- 
gar ranchos,  and  enjoying  reputations  but  little  the 


348  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

worse  for  wear,  in  fact,  much  respected,  and  looked 
upon  with  a  sort  of  compassion,  as  men  who  had 
been  unfortunate  and  broken  up  in  business.  We 
had  now  reached  the  focus  of  their  operations. 

It  is  not  many  years  since  the  coast  of  Cuba  and 
the  adjacent  continent  were  infested  by  bands  of 
desperadoes,  the  common  enemies  of  mankind,  and 
doomed  to  be  hung  and  shot  without  trial,  wherever 
caught.  Tales  of  piracies  and  murders  which  make 
the  blood  run  cold  are  fresh  in  the  remembrance  of 
many.  The  sailor  still  repeats  or  Ustens  to  them 
with  shuddering  interest,  and  in  those  times  of  rap- 
ine and  blood,  this  port  was  notorious  as  a  ren- 
dezvous for  these  robbers  of  the  sea. 

It  commanded  a  view  of  many  leagues,  and  of  all 
vessels  passing  between  Cuba  and  the  Spanish  Main. 
A  long,  low  flat  extended  many  miles  out;  if  the 
vessel  was  armed,  and  of  superior  force,  the  pirates 
pulled  back  into  shoal  water,  and  if  pursued  by  boats, 
scattered  and  saved  themselves  in  the  interior.  The 
plunder  brought  ashore  was  spent  in  gaming  and 
revelry.  Doubloons,  as  one  of  the  inhabitants  told 
us,  were  then  as  plentiful  as  medios  are  now.  The 
prodigaUty  of  the  pirates  brought  many  people  to 
the  place,  who,  profiting  by  their  ill-gotten  gains, 
became  identified  with  them,  and  pirate  law  pre- 
vailed. 

Immediately  on  our  arrival  we  had  visiters,  some 
of  whom  were  silent  and  uncommunicative  upon  the 
historical  associations  of  the  place ;  and  when  they 


PIRATES. 


349 


went  away  their  good-natured  neighbours  spoke  of 
them  as  los  pobres,  who  had  good  reason  to  be  si- 
lent. All  spoke  with  kindness  and  good  feehng  of 
the  leaders,  and  particularly  of  one  Don  Juan,  the 
captain,  a  dashing,  generous  fellow,  whose  death  was 
a  great  pubUc  loss.  Individuals  were  named,  then 
living  in  the  place,  and  the  principal  men,  who  had 
been  notoriously  pirates  ;  one  had  been  several  years 
in  prison  and  under  sentence  of  death,  and  a  canoa 
was  pointed  out,  lying  in  front  of  our  door,  which 
had  been  often  used  in  pirate  service. 

Our  house  had  been  the  headquarters  of  the  buc- 
aniers.  It  was  the  house  of  Molas,  to  whose  un- 
happy end  I  have  before  referred.  He  had  been 
sent  by  the  government  as  commandant  to  put  down 
these  pirates,  but,  as  it  was  said,  entered  into  collu- 
sion with  them,  received  their  plunder,  and  con- 
veyed it  to  the  interior.  At  night  they  had  revelled 
together  in  this  house.  It  was  so  far  from  the  cap- 
ital that  tidings  of  his  misdoings  were  slow  of  trans- 
mission thither,  and,  when  they  were  received,  he 
persuaded  the  government  that  these  reports  pro- 
ceeded from  the  malice  of  his  enemies.  At  length, 
for  his  own  security,  he  found  it  necessary  to  proceed 
against  the  pirates  ;  he  knew  all  their  haunts,  came 
upon  them  by  stealth,  and  killed  or  drove  away  the 
whole  band.  Don  Juan,  the  captain,  w^as  brought  in 
wounded,  and  placed  at  night  in  a  room  partitioned 
off  at  the  end  of  our  sala.    Molas  feared  that,  if 

30 


350 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


carried  up  to  Merida,  Don  Juan  would  betray  him, 
and  in  the  morning  the  latter  was  found  dead.  It 
was  more  than  whispered  that  he  died  by  the  hand 
of  Molas.  It  is  proper  to  add,  what  we  heard  after- 
w^ard,  that  these  stories  were  false,  and  that  Molas 
was  the  victim  of  a  malicious  and  iniquitous  perse- 
cution. I  should  add,  too,  that  the  character  of  this 
place  has  improved.  Broken  up  as  a  pirates'  haunt, 
it  became  the  abode  of  smugglers,  whose  business 
being  now  comparatively  unprofitable,  they  combine 
with  it  the  embarking  of  sugar  and  other  products 
of  ranchos  along  the  coast. 

We  found  one  great  deficiency  at  this  place :  there 
was  no  ramon  for  the  horses.  At  night  we  turned 
them  loose  in  the  village  ;  but  the  barren  plain  fur- 
nished them  no  grazing,  and  they  returned  to  the 
.  house.  Early  in  the  morning  we  despatched  Dinfes 
to  a  ramon  tree  two  leagues  distant,  that  being  the 
nearest  point  at  which  any  could  be  procured ;  and 
in  the  mean  time  I  set  about  searching  for  a  canoa, 
and  succeeded  in  engaging  one,  but  not  of  the  best 
class,  and  the  patron  and  sailors  could  not  be  ready 
in  less  than  two  or  three  days. 

This  over,  we  had  nothing  farther  to  do  in  Yala- 
hao.  I  rambled  for  a  little  while  in  the  Castillo,  a 
low  fortress,  with  twelve  embrazures,  built  for  the 
suppression  of  piracy,  but  the  garrison  of  which, 
from  all  accounts,  connected  themselves  somewhat 
closely  with  the  pirates.  It  was  now  garrisoned  by 
a  little  Meztizo  tailor,  who  had  run  away  from  Sis- 


DON    VICENTE  ALBINO. 


351 


al  with  his  wife  to  avoid  being  taken  for  a  soldier. 
The  meekest  possible  tenants  of  a  fort,  they  paid  no 
rent,  and  seemed  perfectly  happy. 

The  next  morning,  when  we  opened  our  door, 
we  saw  a  sloop  lying  at  anchor,  which  we  soon  un- 
derstood was  the  balandra  of  Don  Vicente  Albino. 
Don  Vicente  was  already  on  shore,  and,  before  we 
had  time  to  make  many  inquiries,  he  called  upon  us. 
We  had  heard  of  him  before,  but  never  expected  to 
see  him  in  person,  for  our  accounts  were  that  he 
had  established  a  rancho  on  the  island  of  Cozumel, 
and  had  been  murdered  by  his  Indians.  The  first 
part  of  the  story  was  true,  but  Don  Vicente  himself 
assured  us  that  the  last  was  not,  though  he  told  us 
that  he  had  had  a  narrow  escape,  and  showed  us  a 
machete  cut  in  the  arm  as  a  token. 

Don  Vicente  was  the  person  of  all  others  whom 
we  wished  to  see,  as  he  was  the  only  one  who 
could  give  us  any  information  about  the  island  of 
Cozumel.  While  be  was  with  us  another  vessel 
came  in  sight,  standing  in  toward  the  shore  ;  which, 
when  still  two  leagues  distant,  lowered  a  boat,  and 
then  stood  off  again.  Don  Vicente  recognised  her  as 
a  Yucatecan  brig  of  war.  The  commandant  came 
ashore  ;  we  had  already  invited  Don  Vicente  to 
dine  with  us,  and  feeling  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  en- 
tertain visiters  of  distinction,  I  invited  the  command- 
ant to  join  us.  This  was  a  rather  bold  attempt,  as 
we  had  but  one  spare  plate,  knife,  and  fork,  but  we 


352  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


had  all  been  in  worse  straits,  and  were  accommoda- 
ting. 

Amid  the  excitement  in  the  port  caused  by  the 
arrival  of  these  strangers,  the  inhabitants  were  not 
suffered  to  forget  us.  A  large  sea-bird,  prepared  by 
Doctor  Cabot  with  arsenic,  and  exposed  to  the  sun 
to  dry,  had  been  carried  off  and  eaten  by  a  hog,  and 
the  report  got  abroad  that  a  hog  sold  that  day  had 
died  from  eating  the  bird.  This  created  somewhat 
of  a  panic,  and  at  night  all  who  had  partaken  of 
the  suspicious  meat  were  known  throughout  the 
port.  A  scientific  exposition,  that  even  if  the  hog 
had  died  from  eating  the  bird,  it  did  not  follow  that 
those  would  die  who  had  eaten  of  the  hog,  was  by 
no  means  satisfactory. 

The  next  day  we  completed  laying  in  our  stock 
of  provisions,  to  wit,  chocolate,  sweetened  bread, 
beef  and  pork  in  strings,  two  turtles,  three  bushels 
of  corn,  and  implements  for  making  tortillas.  We 
had  one  other  important  arrangement  to  make, 
which  was  the  disposition  of  our  horses ;  and,  ac- 
cording to  our  previous  plan,  to  avoid  the  long  jour- 
ney back  through  the  interior  we  determined  to 
send  Dimas  with  them  to  ValladoUd,  and  thence  to 
the  port  of  Silan,  a  journey  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  while  we  should,  on  our  return,  continue  down 
the  coast  with  the  canoa,  and  meet  him  there. 

At  nine  o'clock  we  were  taken  off,  one  at  a  time, 
in  a  small  dug-out,  and  put  on  board  our  canoa. 
We  had  no  leave-takings.    The  only  persons  who 


VOYAGE    DOWN    THE    COAST.  353 

took  any  interest  in  our  movements  w^ere  Dimas, 
v^ho  wanted  to  go  with  us,  the  woman"  whom  we 
had  dispossessed  of  the  house,  and  the  agent  of  the 
canoa,  who  had  no  desire  to  see  us  again. 

Our  canoa  was  known  in  the  port  of  Yalahao 
by  the  name  of  El  Sol,  or  the  Sun.  It  was  thirty- 
five  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide  at  the  top,  but 
curving  toward  the  bottom.  It  carried  two  large 
sails,  with  the  peaks  held  up  by  heavy  poles  se- 
cured at  the  masts;  had  a  space  of  eight  or  ten 
feet  clear  in  the  stern,  and  all  the  rest  was  filled 
with  luggage,  provisions,  and  water-casks.  We  had 
not  been  on  board  till  the  moment  of  embarcation, 
and  prospects  seemed  rather  unpromising  for  a 
month's  cruise.  There  was  no  wind ;  the  sails 
were  flapping  against  the  mast ;  the  sun  beat  down 
upon  us,  and  we  had  no  mat  or  awning  of  any 
kind,  although  the  agent  had  promised  one.  Our 
captain  was  a  middle-aged  Mestizo,  a  fisherman, 
hired  for  the  occasion. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  set  out  on  our 
voyage.  It  was  one  which  we  had  determined 
upon  before  leaving  home,  and  to  which  we  had  al- 
ways looked  forward  with  interest ;  and  the  precise 
object  we  had  in  view  was,  in  following  the  track 
of  the  Spaniards  along  this  coast,  to  discover  ves- 
tiges or  remains  of  the  great  buildings  of  lime  and 
stone  which,  according  to  the  historical  accounts, 
surprised  and  astonished  them. 

Vol.  II.— Y  y 


354 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


At  eleven  o'clock  the  breeze  set  in.  At  twelve 
the  patron  asked  if  he  should  run  ashore  for  us  to 
dine,  and  at  half  past  one  the  breeze  was  so  strong 
against  us  that  we  were  obliged  to  come  to  anchor 
under  the  lee  of  Point  Moscheto.  This  was  an  isl- 
and about  two  leagues  distant  from  Yalahao,  with 
a  projecting  point,  which  we  had  to  double.  We 
could  have  walked  round  it  in  an  hour,  but,  after 
the  experience  of  a  few  hours'  navigation  in  El  Sol, 
it  seemed  to  stand  out  like  Cape  Horn.  Our  bark 
had  no  keel,  and  could  do  nothing  against  the  wind. 
We  went  ashore  on  a  barren,  sandy  beach,  bathed, 
shot,  and  picked  up  shells.  Toward  evening  the 
wind  fell,  and  we  crawled  round  the  point,  when  we 
came  to  anchor  again,  for  it  was  now  dark,  and  El 
Sol  could  not  travel  at  night.  The  patron  made  all 
secure  ;  we  had  a  big  stone  for  anchor,  and  rode  in 
water  knee  deep.  In  due  time  we  turned  in  for 
sleep  ;  and  it  might  have  been  consoling  to  distant 
friends  to  know  that,  exposed  as  we  were  on  this 
desolate  coast,  we  made  so  tight  a  fit  in  the  canoa 
that  if  the  bottom  had  fallen  out  we  could  hardly 
have  gone  through. 

The  next  morning,  with  the  rising  of  her  great 
namesake,  El  Sol  was  under  way.  The  prevalent 
wind  along  the  coast  was  southeast,  adverse  for  us ; 
but,  as  the  captain  said,  on  our  return  it  would  be  in 
our  favour.  At  one  o'clock  another  bold  point  in- 
tercepted us.  It  was  a  great  object  to  get  round  it, 
for  the  wind  would  then  be  fair.    El  Sol  made  a 


AN    INDIAN  FISHERMAN. 


355 


vigorous  effort,  but  by  this  time  the  breeze  had  be- 
come strong,  and  we  were  fain  to  come  to  anchor 
under  the  lee  of  Point  Frances,  which  was  on  the 
same  island  with  Point  Moscheto.  The  island  it- 
self has  no  name,  and  is  a  mere  sand-bank  covered 
with  scrub  bushes,  having  a  passage  between  it 
and  the  mainland,  navigable  for  small  canoas.  Our 
anchorage  ground  was  in  front  of  the  rancho  of  a 
fisherman,  the  only  habitation  on  the  island,  built 
like  an  Indian's  wigwam,  thatched  with  palm  leaves 
close  down  to  the  ground,  and  having  both  ends 
open,  giving  free  passage  to  a  current  of  air,  so  that 
while  without,  a  step  from  the  door,  the  heat  was 
burning,  within  there  were  coolness  and  comfort. 
The  fisherman  was  swinging  in  his  hammock,  and  a 
handsome  Indian  boy  was  making  tortillas,  the  two 
presenting  a  fine  picture  of  youth  and  vigorous  old 
age.  The  former,  as  he  told  us,  was  sixty-five 
years  old,  tall  and  erect,  with  his  face  burned  black, 
deep  seams  on  his  forehead,  but  without  a  single 
gray  hair  or  other  symptom  of  decay.  He  had 
been  three  months  living  on  this  desolate  island, 
and  called  it  amusing  himself  Our  skipper  said 
he  was  the  best  fisherman  from  Yalahao,  that  he 
always  went  alone,  and  always  made  more  than 
the  rest,  but  in  a  week  on  shore  his  money  was 
all  gone.  He  had  no  milpa,  and  said  that,  with  his 
canoa,  and  the  sea,  and  the  whole  coast  as  a  build- 
ing spot  for  a  rancho,  he  was  independent  of  all 
the  world.    The  fishing  on  this  coast  was  for  tur- 


356  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

tie ;  on  one  side  of  the  hut  were  jars  of  turtle  oil, 
and  outside,  rather  too  near  when  the  wind  was 
in  certain  quarters,  were  the  skeletons  of  turtles 
from  which  he  had  extracted  it. 

Toward  evening  the  breeze  again  died  away,  we 
slowly  got  round  the  point,  and  at  half  past  eight 
came  to  anchor,  having  made  six  leagues  on  our 
voyage.  Our  captain  told  us  that  this  desolate  point 
was  Cape  Catoche,  the  memorable  spot  on  the  Con- 
tinent of  America  at  which  the  Spaniards  first  land- 
ed, and  approaching  which,  says  Bernal  Dias,  we 
saw  at  the  distance  of  two  leagues  a  large  town, 
which,  from  its  size,  it  exceeding  any  town  in  Cuba, 
we  named  Grand  Cairo.  The  Spaniards  set  out 
for  it,  and  passing  by  some  thick  woods,  were  attack- 
ed by  Indians  in  ambuscade.  Near  the  place  of  this 
ambuscade,  he  adds,  were  three  buildings  of  lime 
and  stone,  wherein  were  idols  of  clay,  with  diaboli- 
cal countenances,  &c. 

Navigators  and  geographers,  however,  have  as- 
signed different  localities  to  this  memorable  point, 
and  its  true  position  is,  perhaps,  uncertain. 

At  daylight  we  were  again  under  way,  and  soon 
were  opposite  Boca  Nueva,  being  the  entrance  to  a 
passage  between  the  island  and  the  main,  better 
known  to  the  fishermen  as  the  Boca  de  Iglesia, 
from  the  ruins  of  a  church  visible  at  a  great  distance. 
This  church  was  one  of  the  objects  I  intended  to 
visit ;  and  one  reason  for  preferring  the  canoa,  when 
we  had  the  chance  of  Don  Vicente's  sloop,  was  that 


ISLAND    OF  CONTOY. 


357 


we  might  do  so ;  but  our  captain  told  us  that  even 
with  our  draught  of  water  we  could  not  approach 
nearer  than  a  league ;  that  a  long  muddy  flat  inter- 
vened ;  and  that  we  could  not  reach  the  shore  by 
wading.  He  said,  too,  what  we  had  heard  from  oth- 
ers, and  believed  to  be  the  case,  that  the  church  was 
certainly  Spanish,  and  stood  among  the  ruins  of  a 
Spanish  town  destroyed  by  the  bucaniers,  or,  in  his 
own  words,  by  the  English  pirates.  The  wind  was 
ahead,  but  we  could  make  a  good  stretch  from  the 
coast,  and,  anxious  to  lose  no  advantage,  we  made 
sail  for  the  island  of  Contoy.  It  was  dark  when  we 
came  to  anchor,  and  we  were  already  distressed  for 
water.  Our  casks  were  impregnated  with  the  fla- 
vour of  agua  ardiente,  and  the  water  was  sickening. 
Through  the  darkness  we  saw  the  outline  of  a  des- 
olate rancho.  Our  men  went  ashore,  and,  moving 
round  it  with  torches,  made  a  fine  piratical  appear- 
ance ;  but  they  found  no  water. 

Before  daylight  we  were  roused  by  the  screaming 
of  sea-birds  ;  in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  the  island 
seemed  covered  with  a  moving  canopy,  and  the  air 
was  noisy  with  their  clamour  ;  but,  unfortunatelyfor 
Doctor  Cabot,  we  had  a  fine  breeze,  and  he  had  no 
opportunity  of  getting  at  their  nests.  The  coast 
was  wild  and  rugged,  indented  occasionally  by  small 
picturesque  bays.  Below  the  point  of  the  island 
Doctor  Cabot  shot  two  pelicans,  and  getting  the 
canoa  about  to  take  them  on  board  was  like  ma- 
ncjeuvring  a  seventy-four  gun-ship. 


358  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  reached  the  island  of  Mu- 
geres,  notorious  in  that  region  as  the  resort  of  La- 
fitte  the  pirate.  Monsieur  Lafitta,  as  our  skipper 
called  him,  bore  a  good  character  in  these  parts  ;  he 
was  always  good  to  the  fishermen,  and  paid  them 
well  for  all  he  took  from  them.  At  a  short  distance 
beyond  the  point  we  passed  a  small  bay,  in  which 
he  moored  his  little  navy.  The  mouth  was  nar- 
row, and  protected  by  ledges  of  broken  rocks,  on 
which,  as  the  patron  told  us,  he  had  batteries  con- 
stantly manned.  On  the  farther  point  of  the  island 
we  had  a  distant  view  of  one  of  those  stone  build- 
ings which  were  our  inducement  to  this  voyage 
along  the  coast.  While  looking  at  it  from  the  prow 
of  the  canoa,  with  the  patron  by  my  side,  he  broke 
from  me,  seized  a  harpoon,  and  pointing  with  it  to 
indicate  the  direction  to  the  helmsman,  we  came  si- 
lently upon  a  large  turtle,  apparently  asleep,  which 
must  have  been  somewhat  surprised  on  waking  up 
with  three  or  four  inches  of  cold  steel  in  his  back. 
The  patron  and  sailors  looked  upon  him  as  upon 
a  bag  of  dollars  snatched  from  the  deep.  There 
are  three  kinds  of  turtles  which  inhabit  these  seas ; 
the  Cahuamo,  the  eggs  of  which  serve  for  food,  and 
which  is  useful  besides  only  for  its  oil ;  the  Tortu- 
ga,  of  w^hich  the  meat  as  well  as  the  eggs  is  eaten, 
which  also  produces  oil,  and  of  which  the  shell  is 
.  worth  two  reales  the  pound  ;  and  the  Kare,  of  which 
the  shell  is  worth  ten  dollars  a  pound.  It  was  one 
of  this  kind,  being  the  rarest,  that  had  crossed  our 


TURTLE. 


359 


path.  I  would  not  make  any  man  unhappy,  but  the 
fishermen  say  that  the  turtle  which  forms  the  de- 
light of  the  gourmand  is  of  the  commonest  kind,  not 
worth  killing  for  the  sake  of  the  shell,  and  therefore 
sent  away  alive.  The  kare  he  has  never  tasted. 
It  is  killed  for  the  sake  of  the  shell,  and  eaten  by  the 
luxurious  fishermen  on  the  spot.  I  immediately  ne- 
gotiated with  the  patron  for  the  purchase  of  the  shell. 
The  outer  scales  of  the  back,  eight  in  number,  are  all 
that  is  valuable.  Their  weight  he  estimated  at  four 
pounds,  and  the  price  in  Campeachy  he  said  was 
ten  dollars  a  pound,  but  he  was  an  honest  fellow, 
and  let  me  have  it  at  two  pounds  and  a  half,  for 
eight  dollars  a  pound  ;  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
learning  afterward  that  I  had  not  paid  more  than 
twice  as  much  as  it  was  worth. 

In  the  afternoon  we  steered  for  the  mainland, 
passing  the  island  of  Kancune,  a  barren  strip  of 
land,  with  sand  hills  and  stone  buildings  visible  upon 
it.  The  whole  of  this  coast  is  lined  with  reefs  of 
rocks,  having  narrow  passages  which  enable  a  canoa 
to  enter  and  find  shelter ;  but  it  is  dangerous  to  at- 
tempt the  passage  at  night.  We  had  a  good  wind, 
but  as  the  next  harbour  was  at  some  distance,  the 
patron  came  to  anchor  at  about  four  o'clock  under 
the  lee  of  the  point  of  Nesuc.  Immediately  we 
went  ashore  in  search  of  water,  but  found  only  a 
dirty  pool,  in  which  the  water  was  so  salt  that  we 
could  scarcely  drink  it,  but  still  it  was  an  agreeable 
change  from  that  we  had  on  board. 


360  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

I  - 

We  had  time  for  a  bath,  and  while  preparing  to 
take  it  saw  two  large  sharks  moving  along  the  shore 
in  water  four  or  five  feet  deep,  and  so  clear  that  their 
ugly  eyes  were  visible.  We  hesitated,  but,  from  the 
heat  and  confinement  of  the  canoa,  we  were  in  real 
need ;  and  stationing  Albino  on  the  prow  to  keep  a 
look  out,  we  accomplished  our  purpose.  Afterward 
we  rambled  along  the  shore  to  pick  up  shells ;  but 
toward  dark  we  were  all  hurrying  back,  flying  be- 
fore the  natives,  swarms  of  moschetoes,  which  pur- 
sued us  with  the  same  bloodthirsty  spirit  that  ani- 
mated the  Indians  along  this  coast  when  they  pursu- 
ed the  Spaniards.  We  heaved  upon  our  cable, 
hauled  up  our  big  stone,  and  dropped  ofi*  to  some 
distance  from  the  shore,  with  horrible  apprehensions 
for  the  night,  but,  fortunately,  we  escaped. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  we  were  again  un- 
der way,  and,  with  a  strong  and  favourable  wind, 
steered  from  the  coast  for  the  island  of  Cozumel. 
Very  soon,  in  the  comparatively  open  sea,  we  felt 
the  discomfort  and  even  insecurity  of  our  little  ves- 
sel. The  waves  broke  over  us,  wetting  our  luggage 
and  ourselves,  and  interfering  materially  with  Ber- 
naldo's  cooking.  At  about  four  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon we  were  upon  the  coast  of  Cozumel,  and 
here  for  the  first  time  we  made  a  discovery,  at  the 
moment  sufficiently  annoying,  viz.,  that  our  patron 
was  not  familiar  with  the  coast  of  this  island ;  it 
was  bound  with  reefs;  there  were  only  certain 


BAY    OF    SAN  MIGUEL. 


361 


places  where  it  was  practicable  to  run  in,  and  he 
was  afraid  to  make  the  attempt.  i; 

Om*  plan  was  to  disembark  at  the  rancho  of  Don 
Vicente  Albino,  and  the  patron  did  not  l^ow 
where  it  was.  It  was  too  late  to  look  for  itj'^and, 
saihng  along  till  he  saw  a  passage  among  the  reefs, 
he  laid  the  old  canoa  into  it,  and  then  threw  out  the 
big  stone,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  shore.  On 
the  outer  reef  was  the  wreck  of  a  brig ;  her  naked 
ribs  were  above  the  water,  and  the  fate  of  her  mar- 
iners no  one  knew. 

The  next  morning,  after  some  hours  spent  in 
groping  about,  we  discovered  the  rancho  of  Don 
Vicente,  distant  about  three  miles.  Here  we  en- 
countered a  strong  current  of  perhaps  four  miles  an 
hour ;  and,  taking  the  wind  close  hauled,  in  a  little 
while  found  that  El  Sol  w^as  not  hkelj  to  have  a 
very  brilliant  career  that  day.  At  length  we  went 
close  in,  furled  sails,  and  betook  ourselves  to  poles, 
by  means  of  which,  after  two  hours'  hard  work,  we 
reached  the  httle  Bay  of  San  Miguel,  on  which  stood 
the  rancho  of  Don  Vicente.  The  clearing  around 
it  was  the  only  one  on  the  island,  all  the  rest  being 
thick  woods.  This  bay  had  a  sandy  beach  ex- 
tending some  distance  to  a  rocky  point,  but  even 
here  the  water  was  discoloured  by  sunken  reefs. 
In  the  case  of  a  norther  it  was  an  unsafe  anchor- 
age ground ;  El  Sol  would  be  driven  upon  the  rocks, 
and  the  captain  wished  to  leave  us  on  shore,  and  go 
in  search  of  a  better  harbour;  but  to  this  we  object- 

VoL.  II.—Z  z  31 


362 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ed,  and  for  the  present  directed  him  to  run  her  up 
close ;  when,  standing  upon  the  bow,  and  leaping 
with  our  setting  poles,  we  landed  upon  the  desolate 
island  of  Cozumel. 

Above  the  line  of  the  shore  was  a  fine  table  of 
land,  on  which  were  several  huts,  built  of  poles,  and 
thatched  with  palm  leaves.  One  was  large  and 
commodious,  divided  into  apartments,  and  contained 
rude  benches  and  tables,  as  if  prepared  for  our  im- 
mediate occupation.  Back  of  the  house  was  an  en- 
closure for  a  garden,  overgrown,  but  with  any  quantity 
of  tomatoes,  ripe,  wasting,  and  begging  to  be  put  into 
a  turtle  soup  then  in  preparation  on  board  the  canoa. 

This  rancho  was  established  by  the  pirate  Molas, 
who,  escaping  from  death  in  Merida,  made  his  way 
hither.  He  succeeded  in  getting  to  him  his  wife 
and  children  and  a  few  Indians,  and  for  several 
years  nothing  was  heard  of  him.  In  the  mean 
time  he  laid  the  keel  of  a  sloop,  finished  it  with  his 
own  hands,  carried  it  to  Belize,  and  sold  it ;  new 
subjects  of  excitement  grew  up,  and,  being  in  a  meas- 
ure forgotten,  he  again  ventured  to  the  mainland, 
and  left  the  island  to  its  solitude. 

After  him  Don  Vice,nte  Albino  undertook  to  es- 
tablish  upon  it  a  ranchf)  for  the  cultivation  of  cotton, 
which  was  broken  up  by  the  mutiny  of  his  Indians 
and  an  attempt  to  murder  him.  When  we  met  him 
at  Yalahao  he  had  just  returned  from  his  last  visit, 
carrying  away  his  property,  and  leaving  five  dogs 
tenants  of  the  island.    After  him  came  a  stranger 


ISLAND    OF  COZUMEL. 


363 


occupant  than  either,  being  no  other  than  our  old 
friend  Mr.  George  Fisher,  that  "  citizen  of  the 
world"  introduced  to  the  reader  in  the  early  part 
of  these  pages,  who,  since  our  separation  in  Mer- 
ida,  had  consummated  the  history  of  his  wander- 
ing life  by  becoming  the  purchaser  of  six  leagues, 
or  eighteen  miles,  of  the  island,  had  visited  it  him- 
self with  surveyors,  set  up  his  crosses  along  the 
shore,  and  was  about  undertaking  a  grand  enter- 
prise, that  was  to  make  the  lonely  island  of  Cozu-  . ' 
mel  known  to  the  commercial  world. 

Our  act  of  taking  possession  was  unusually  ex- 
citing. It  was  an  immense  relief  to  escape  from  the 
confinement  of  the  canoa.  The  situation  command- 
ed a  view  of  the  sea,  and,  barely  distinguishable,  in 
the  distance  was  the  coast  of  Yucatan.  On  the  bank 
were  large  forest  trees  which  had  been  spared  in  the 
clearing,  and  orange  and  cocoanut  trees  planted  by 
Molas.  The  place  had  a  sort  of  piratical  aspect. 
In  the  hut  were  doors  and  green  bUnds  from  the 
cabin  of  some  unlucky  vessel,  and  reeving  blocks, 
tar  buckets,  halliards,  drinking  gourds,  fragments  of 
rope,  fishing  nets,  and  two  old  hatches  were  scat- 
tered on  the  ground.  Above  all,  the  first  object  we 
discovered,  which  would  have  given  a  charm  to  a  bar- 
ren sand  bank,  was  a  well  of  pure  and  abundant  wa- 
ter, which  we  fell  upon  at  the  moment  of  landing, 
and  were  almost  like  the  Spanish  soldier  in  the  expe- 
dition of  Cordova,  who  drank  till  he  swelled  and 
died.    And,  besides  the  relief  of  a  pressing  want, 


364 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


this  well  had  a  higher  interest,  for  it  assured  us  that 
our  visit  was  not  bootless.  We  saw  in  it,  at  the 
first  glance,  the  work  of  the  same  builders  with 
whose  labours  on  the  mainland  we  were  now  so  fa- 
mihar,  being,  hke  the  subterranean  chambers  at  Ux- 
mal,  dome  shaped,  but  larger  both  at  the  mouth  and 
in  the  interior. 

This  well  was  shaded  by  a  large  cocoanut  tree. 
We  hauled  up  under  it  one  of  the  hatches,  and,  sit- 
ting around  it  on  blocks,  had  served  up  the  turtle 
which  had  been  accompHshing  its  destiny  on  board 
the  canoa.  With  our  guns  resting  against  the  trees, 
long  beards,  and  canoa  costume,  we  were,  perhaps, 
as  piratical-seeming  a  trio  as  ever  scuttled  a  ship  at 
sea.  In  the  afternoon  we  walked  over  the  clear- 
ing, which  was  covered  with  a  fine  plantation  of 
cotton,  worth,  as  the  patron  said,  several  hundred 
dollars,  with  the  pods  open  and  blowing  away,  indi- 
cating that  the  rancho  had  been  abandoned  in  haste, 
without  regard  to  the  preservation  of  property.  To- 
ward evening  we  strolled  for  a  great  distance  along 
the  shore,  picking  up  shells,  and  at  night  we  had  a 
luxurious  swing  in  our  hammocks. 


A    CRIPPLED  DOG. 


365 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  crippled  Dog. — Island  of  Cozumel  known  to  the  Natives  by  the 
Name  of  Cuzamil. — Discovered  by  Juan  De  Grijalva.— Extracts 
from  the  Itinerary  of  his  Voyage. — Towers  seen  by  the  Span- 
iards.— An  ancient  Indian  Village. — Temples. — Idols  prostrated 
by  the  Spaniards. — Present  State  of  the  Island. — Overgrown 
with  Trees. — Terrace  and  Building. — Another  Building. — These 
Buildings  probably  the  Towers  seen  by  the  Spaniards. — Identi- 
cal with  those  on  the  Mainland. — Ruins  of  a  Spanish  Church. — 
Its  History  unknown. — Vanity  of  Human  Expectations. — Opin- 
ion of  the  old  Spanish  Writers. — Their  Belief  that  the  Cross  was 
found  among  the  Indians  as  a  Symbol  of  Christian  Worship. 
— The  "  Cozumel  Cross"  at  Merida. — Platform  in  Front  of  the 
Church. — Square  Pillars. — Once  supported  Crosses. — The  Coz- 
umel Cross  one  of  them. — The  Cross  never  recognised  by  the 
Indians  as  a  Symbol  of  Worship. — Rare  Birds. — A  Sudden 
Storm. — The  Canoa  in  a  Strait.— Fearful  Apprehensions. 

The  next  morning,  while  breakfasting  on  the  old 
hatch,  we  saw  a  dog  peering  at  us  from  a  distance, 
as  if  wishing,  but  fearful  to  approach.  The  poor 
beast  was  crippled,  limped  badly,  and  had  his  fore 
shoulder  horribly  mangled,  the  patron  said  by  an  en- 
counter with  a  wild  boar.  We  endeavoured  to  en- 
tice him  to  us,  but,  after  looking  at  us  a  few  mo- 
ments, he  went  away,  and  never  came  near  us 
again.  No  doubt  he  was  one  of  the  live  left  by  Don 
Vicente  Albino,  and,  abandoned  once,  he  had  lost 
all  confidence  in  man.  In  a  few  years,  if  these  are 
not  eaten  up  by  stronger  beasts,  a  race  of  wild  dogs 
may  inhabit  this  deserted  island. 

The  island  of  Cozumel,  as  it  is  now  called,  was 


366  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

known  to  the  natives  by  the  name  of  Cuzamil,  sig- 
nifying in  their  language  the  Island  of  Swallows. 
Before  setting  out  from  home  I  had  fixed  upon  this 
island  as  one  of  the  points  of  our  journey.  My  at- 
tention was  directed  to  it  by  the  historical  accounts 
of  its  condition  when  it  first  became  known  to  the 
Spaniards.  It  was  discovered  accidentally  in  1518 
by  Juan  de  Grijalva,  who,  in  attempting  to  follow 
in  the  track  of  Cordova,  was  driven  in  sight  of  it. 
The  itinerary  of  this  voyage  was  kept  by  the  chap- 
lain-in-chief of  the  fleet,  under  the  direction  of  Gri- 
jalva, and,  with  a  collection  of  original  narratives 
and  memoirs,  was  published  for  the  first  time  in 
183S  at  Paris.    The  itinerary  opens  thus  : 

"  Saturday,  the  first  of  March  of  the  year  1518, 
the  commandant  of  the  said  fleet  sailed  from  the 
island  of  Cuba.  On  the  fourth  of  March  we  saw 
upon  a  promontory  a  white  house.  *****  All 
the  coast  was  lined  with  reefs  and  shoals.  We  di- 
rected ourselves  upon  the  opposite  shore,  when  we 
distinguished  the  house  more  easily.  It  was  in  the 
form  of  a  small  tower,  and  appeared  to  be  eight 
palms  in  length  and  the  height  of  a  man.  The 
fleet  came  to  anchor  about  six  miles  from  the  coast. 
Two  little  barks  called  canoes  approached  us,  each 
manned  by  three  Indians,  which  came  to  within  a 
cannon  shot  of  the  vessel.  We  could  not  speak  to 
them  nor  learn  anything  from  them,  except  that  in 
the  morning  the  cacique,  i.  e.,  the  chief  of  that 
place,  would  come  on  board  our  vessel.    The  next 


DISCOVERY    OF    COZUMEL.  367 

morning  we  set  sail  to  reconnoiter  a  cape  which  we 
'  saw  at  a  distance,  and  which  the  pilot  told  us  was 
the  island  of  Yucatan.  Between  it  and  the  point 
of  Cucuniel,  where  we  were,  we  found  a  gulf,  into 
which  we  entered,  and  came  near  the  shore  of  Cuz- 
amil,  which  we  coasted.  Besides  the  tower  which 
we  had  seen,  we  discovered  fourteen  others  of  the 
same  form.  Before  leaving  the  first,  the  two  canoes 
of  Indians  returned  ;  the  chief  of  the  village  was  in 
one  of  them,  and  came  on  board  the  vessel  of  the 
admiral,  and  spoke  to  us  by  means  of  an  interpreter 
(one  of  the  two  Indians  carried  off  from  Yucatan 
on  the  previous  voyage  of  Cordova),  and  prayed  the 
commander  to  come  to  his  village,  saying  that  it 
would  be  a  great  honour  to  him.  *  *  ^-  * 

"  We  set  sail,  following  the  coast  at  the  distance 
of  a  stone's  throw,  for  the  sea  is  very  deep  upon 
the  borders.  The  country  appeared  very  agree- 
able ;  we  counted,  on  leaving  this  point,  fourteen 
towers  of  the  form  indicated.  At  sunset  we  saw  a 
large  white  tower,  which  appeared  very  high.  We 
approached,  and  saw  near  it  a  multitude  of  Indians, 
men  and  women,  who  were  looking  at  us,  and  re- 
mained until  the  fleet  stopped  within  musket  shot 
of  the  tower.  The  Indians,  who  are  very  numer- 
ous in  this  island,  made  a  great  noise  with  their 
drums. 

"  On  Friday,  the  sixth  of  May,  the  commandant 
ordered  one  hundred  men  to  arm  themselves.  They 
embarked  in  the  boats,  and  landed.    They  were  ac- 


368 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


companied  by  a  priest,  and  expected  to  be  attacked 
by  a  great  number  of  Indians.  Being  prepared  for 
defence,  they  arranged  themselves  in  good  order, 
and  came  to  the  tower,  w^here  they  found  no  one  ; 
and  in  all  the  environs  they  did  not  see  a  single 
man.  The  commandant  mounted  upon  the  tower 
with  the  standard  bearer,  the  flag  unfurled.  He 
planted  this  standard  upon  one  of  the  facades  of  the 
tower,  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king,  in 
presence  of  witnesses,  and  drew  up  a  declaration  of 
said  taking  possession. 

"  The  ascent  to  this  tower  was  by  eighteen  steps  ; 
the  base  was  very  massive,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  in  circumference.  At  the  top  rose  a  small  tow- 
er of  the  height  of  two  men  ^placed  one  upon  the  oth- 
er. Within  were  figures,  bones,  and  idols  that  they 
adored.  From  these  marks  we  supposed  that  they 
were  idolaters.  While  the  commandant  was  at  the 
top  of  the  tower  with  many  of  our  people,  an  In- 
dian, followed  by  three  others  who  kept  the  doors, 
put  in  the  interior  a  vase  with  very  odoriferous  per- 
fumes, which  seemed  of  storax.  This  Indian  was 
old ;  he  burned  many  perfumes  before  the  idols 
which  were  in  the  tower,  and  sang  in  a  loud  voice 
a  song,  which  was  always  in  the  same  tone.  We 
supposed  that  he  was  invoking  his  idols.  ***** 
These  Indians  carried  our  commandant  with  ten  or 
twelve  Spaniards,  and  gave  them  to  eat  in  a  hall  con- 
structed of  stones  very  close  together,  and  covered 
with  straw.    Before  the  hall  was  a  large  well,  from 


AN    ANCIENT    INDIAN  VILLAGE. 


369 


which  everybody  drank.  *  *  *  *  They  then  left  us 
alone,  and  v^e  entered  the  village,  where  all  the 
houses  were  built  of  stone.  Among  others,  we  saw 
jfive  very  well  made,  and  commanded  by  small  tow- 
ers. The  base  of  these  edifices  is  very  large  and 
massive ;  the  building  is  very  small  at  the  top. 
They  appeared  to  have  been  built  a  long  time,  but 
there  are  also  modern  ones, 

"  That  village,  or  bourg,  was  paved  with  concave 
stones.  The  streets,  elevated  at  the  sides,  descend- 
ed, inclining  toward  the  middle,  which  was  paved 
entirely  with  large  stones.  The  sides  were  occu- 
pied by  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants.  They  are 
constructed  of  stone  from  the  foundation  to  half  the 
height  of  the  walls,  and  covered  with  straw.  To 
judge  by  the  edifices  and  houses^  these  Indians  appear 
to  be  very  ingenious ;  and  if  we  had  not  seen  a  num- 
ber of  recent  constructions,  we  should  have  thought 
that  these  buildings  were  the  works  of  the  Span- 
iards.   This  island  appears  to  me  very  handsome. 

*  *  *  We  penetrated,  to  the  number  of  ten  men, 
three  or  four  miles  in  the  interior.  We  saw  there 
edifices  and  habitations  separated  one  from  another, 
and  very  well  constructed." 

On  the  tenth  of  Feburary,  1519,  the  armament  of 
Cortez  rendezvoused  at  this  island.  Bernal  Dias 
was  again  a  companion,  and  was  an  actor  in  a  scene 
which  he  describes  as  follows :  "  There  was  on  the 
island  of  Cozumel  a  temple  containing  some  hideous 
idols,  to  which  all  the  Indians  of  the  neighbouring 

Vol.  II. — A  a  a 


370 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


districts  used  to  go  frequently  in  solemn  procession. 
One  morning  the  courts  of  this  temple  were  filled 
with  Indians,  and  curiosity  having  also  drawn  many 
of  us  thither,  we  found  them  burning  odoriferous 
resins  like  our  incense,  and  shortly  after  an  old  man 
in  a  large  loose  mantle  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
temple,  and  harangued  or  preached  to  the  multitude 
for  a  considerable  time.  Cortez,  who  was  present, 
at  length  called  to  him  Melchorejo,  an  Indian  prisoner 
taken  on  a  previous  voyage  to  Yucatan,  to  question 
^  him  concerning  the  evil  doctrines  which  the  old  man 
was  delivering.  He  then  summoned  all  the  ca- 
ciques and  chief  persons  to  come  before  him,  and  as 
well  as  he  could,  by  signs  and  interpretations,  ex- 
plained to  them  that  the  idols  which  they  worship- 
ped were  not  gods,  but  evil  things,  which  would 
draw  their  souls  down  to  hell,  and  that,  if  they  wish- 
ed to  remain  in  brotherly  connexion  with  us,  they 
must  pull  them  down,  and  place  in  their  stead  the 
crucifix  of  our  Lord,  by  whose  assistance  they  would 
obtain  good  harvests  and  the  salvation  of  their  souls, 
with  many  other  good  and  holy  reasons,  which  he 
expressed  very  well.  The  priests  and  chiefs  replied 
that  they  worshipped  these  gods  as  their  ancestors 
had  done,  because  they  were  kind  to  them,  and  that, 
if  we  attempted  to  molest  them,  the  gods  would  con- 
vince us  of  their  power  by  destroying  us  in  the  sea. 
Cortez  then  ordered  the  idols  to  be  prostrated,  which 
we  immediately  did,  rolling  them  down  some  steps. 
He  next  sent  for  lime,  of  which  there  was  abundance 


TEMPLES    OF    THE    INDIANS.  371 

in  the  place,  and  Indian  masons,  by  whom,  under 
our  direction,  a  very  handsome  altar  was  construct- 
ed, whereon  we  placed  an  image  of  the  Holy  Virgin  ; 
and  the  carpenters  having  made  a  crucifix,  which 
was  erected  in  a  small  chapel  close  to  the  altar, 
mass  was  said  by  the  reverend  father  Juan  Dias, 
and  listened  to  by  the  priests,  chiefs,  and  the  rest  of 
the  natives  with  great  attention." 

These  are  the  accounts  given  by  eyewitnesses  of 
what  they  saw  on  the  first  visits  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  later  historians  are  more  explicit,  and  speak  of 
Cozumel  as  a  place  containing  many  adoratorios 
and  temples,  as  a  principal  sanctuary  and  place  of 
pilgrimage,  standing  to  Yucatan  in  the  same  relation 
as  Rome  to  the  Catholic  world.  Gomarra  describes 
one  temple  as  being  "like  a  square  tower,  broad 
at  the  base,  having  steps  on  the  sides,  and  at  the 
top  a  chamber  covered  with  straw,  with  four  doors 
or  windows,  with  their  breastworks  or  corridors.  In 
the  hollow,  which  seems  like  a  chapel,  they  seat 
or  paint  their  gods.  Such  was  that  which  stood 
near  the  seacoast." 

By  these  accounts  I  had  been  induced  to  visit 
the  island  of  Cozumel ;  and  an  incidental  notice 
in  the  Modern  Traveller,  speaking  of  existing  ruins 
as  remains  of  Spanish  buildings,  led  me  to  suspect 
that  their  character  had  been  mistaken,  and  that 
they  were  really  vestiges  of  the  original  population  ; 
but  on  the  ground  we  asked  ourselves  where  to  look 
for  them.    Amid  all  the  devastations  that  attended 


372  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

the  progress  of  the  Spaniards  in  America,  none  is 
more  complete  than  tliat  which  has  swept  over  the 
island  of  Cozumel.  When  I  resolved  to  visit  it  I 
was  not  aware  that  it  was  uninhabited  ;  and  knowing 
it  to  be  but  thirty  miles  long,  I  supposed  that,  with- 
out much  difficulty,  a  thorough  exploration  could  be 
made  ;  but  even  before  landing  we  saw  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  accomplish  this,  and  idle  to  make 
the  attempt.  The  whole  island  was  overgrown  with 
trees,  and,  except  along  the  shore  or  within  the 
clearing  around  the  hut,  it  was  impossible  to  move 
in  any  direction  without  cutting  a  path.  We  had 
only  our  two  sailors,  and  if  we  should  cut  by  the 
compass  through  the  heart  of  the  island,  we  might 
pass  within  a  few  feet  of  a  building  without  perceiv- 
ing it.  Fortunately,  however,  on  the  borders  of  the 
clearing  there  were  vestiges  of  ancient  population, 
which,  from  the  directions  of  Don  Vicente  Albino, 
we  had  no  difficulty  in  finding.  One  of  them,  stand- 
ing about  two  hundred  feet  distant  from  the  sea,  and 
even  now  visible  above  the  tops  of  the  trees  to  ves- 
sels saiUng  by,  is  represented  in  the  engraving  that 
follows.  It  stands  on  a  terrace,  and  has  steps  on  all 
four  of  its  sides.  The  building  measures  sixteen 
feet  square;  it  had  four  doors  facing  the  cardinal 
points,  and,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  figure  of  a  man 
sitting  on  the  steps,  it  is  very  low.  The  exterior  is 
of  plain  stone,  but  was  formerly  stuccoed  and  paint- 
ed, traces  of  which  are  still  visible.  The  doorways 
open  into  a  narrow  corridor  only  twenty  inches 


TERRACES    AND  BUILDINGS. 


373 


wide,  which  encompasses  a  small  room  eight  feet  six 
inches  long  and  five  feet  wide,  having  a  doorway 
opening  to  the  centre. 

South -southeast  from  this,  near  an  opposite  an- 
gle of  the  clearing,  and  five  or  six  hundred  feet  from 
the  sea,  stands  another  building  raised  upon  a  ter- 
race, consisting  of  a  single  apartment,  twenty  feet 
front  and  six  feet  ten  inches  deep,  having  two  door- 
ways and  a  back  wall  seven  feet  thick.    The  height 

32 


374 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


is  ten  feet,  the  arch  is  triangular,  and  on  the  walls 
are  the  remains  of  paintings. 

These  were  the  only  buildings  in  the  clearing, 
and  though,  doubtless,  many  more  lie  buried  in  the 
woods,  we  saw  no  other  on  the  island ;  but  to  us 
these  were  pregnant  with  instruction.  The  building 
presented  in  the  engraving,  standing  close  to  the  sea, 
answers,  in  all  its  general  features,  the  description  of 
the  "  towers"  seen  by  Grijalva  and  his  companions 
as  they  sailed  along  the  coast.  The  ascent  is  hy 
steps,  the  base  is  very  massive,  the  building  is  small 
at  the  top,  it  is  about  the  height  of  two  men  placed 
one  above  the  other,  and  at  this  day  we  may  say,  as 
the  Spaniards  did,  that,  to  judge  by  their  edifices, 
these  Indian?^  appear  to  be  very  ingenious.  It  is  an 
interesting  fact,  moreover,  that  not  only  our  patron 
and  sailors  called  this  building  a  "  tower,"  but  in  a 
late  article  published  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  at  London,  entitled  "  Sketch 
of  the  Eastern  Coast  of  Central  America,  compiled 
from  Notes  of  Captain  Richard  Owen  and  the  Offi- 
cers of  her  Majesty's  Ship  Thunder  and  Schooner 
Lark,"  this  building,  with  others  of  the  same  general 
character,  is  indicated  by  the  name  of  a  "  tower." 
So  far  as  the  i?oute  of  Grijalva  can  be  traced  with 
certainty,  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  the 
Spaniards  landed  for  the  first  time  in  the  bay  on  the 
shore  of  which  this  building  stands,  and  there  is  no 
violence  in  the  supposition  that  the  building  present- 
ed is  the  very  tower  in  which  the  Spaniards  saw  the 


IDENTITY    OF    THE    RUINED    CITIES.  375 

performance  of  idolatrous  rites ;  perhaps  it  is  the 
same  temple  from  which  Bernal  Dias  and  his  com- 
panions rolled  the  idols  down  the  steps.  And  more 
than  this,  establishing  the  great  result  for  which  we 
had  visited  this  island,  these  buildings  were  identi- 
cally the  same  with  those  on  the  mainland ;  if  we 
had  seen  hundreds,  we  could  not  have  been  more 
firmly  convinced  that  they  were  all  erected  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  same  people  ;  and  if  not  a  single  cor- 
roborating circumstance  existed  besides,  they  afford 
in  themselves  abundant  and  conclusive  proof  that 
the  ruined  cities  on  the  continent,  the  building  of 
which  has  been  ascribed  to  races  lost,  perished,  and 
unknown,  were  inhabited  by  the  very  same  Indians 
who  occupied  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 

At  the  rear  of  the  last  building,  buried  in  the 
woods,  so  that  we  should  never  have  found  it  but 
for  our  patron,  is  another  memorial,  perhaps  equal  in 
interest  to  any  now  existing  on  the  island  of  Cozu- 
mel.  It  is  the  ruins  of  a  Spanish  church,  sixty  or 
seventy  feet  front  and  two  hundred  deep.  The 
front  wall  has  almost  wholly  fallen,  but  the  side 
walls  are  standing  to  the  height  of  about  twenty 
feet.  The  plastering  remains,  and  along  the  base 
is  a  Une  of  painted  ornaments.  The  interior  is  en- 
cumbered with  the  ruins  of  the  fallen  roof,  over- 
grown with  bushes ;  a  tree  is  growing  out  of  the 
great  altar,  and  the  whole  is  a  scene  of  irrecovera- 
ble destruction.  The  history  of  this  church  is  as 
obscure  as  that  of  the  ruined  temples  whose  worship 


376 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


it  supplanted.  When  it  was  built  or  why  it  was 
abandoned,  and,  indeed,  its  very  existence,  are  ut- 
terly unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  New  Spain. 
There  is  no  record  or  tradition  in  regard  to  it,  and, 
doubtless,  any  attempt  at  this  day  to  investigate  its 
history  would  be  fruitless.  In  the  obscurity  that 
now  envelops  it  we  read  a  lesson  upon  the  vanity 
of  human  expectations,  showing  the  ignorance  of 
the  conquerors  in  regard  to  the  value  of  the  new- 
ly-discovered countries  in  America.  Benito  Pe- 
rez, a  priest  who  accompanied  the  expedition  of 
Grijalva,  sohcited  from  the  king  the  bishopric  of 
this  island.  At  the  same  time,  a  more  distinguished 
ecclesiastic  was  asking  for  that  of  the  island  of 
Cuba.  The  king  advanced  the  latter  to  the  higher 
honour  of  the  bishopric  of  Cozumel,  and  put  off 
Benito  Perez  with  what  was  considered  the  com- 
paratively insignificant  see  of  Culhua.  Cozumel  is 
now  a  desert,  and  Culhua,  or  Mexico,  is  the  rich- 
est bishopric  in  New  Spain. 

But  I  have  a  particular  reason  for  presenting  to 
the  reader  this  ruined  church.  It  is  a  notion,  or, 
rather,  a  principle,  pervading  all  the  old  Spanish 
writers,  that  at  some  early  day  Christianity  had  been 
preached  to  the  Indians,  and  connected  with  this  is 
the  belief  that  the  cross  was  found  by  the  first  con- 
querors in  the  province  of  Yucatan  as  a  symbol  of 
Christian  worship.  Prophecies  are  recorded  sup- 
posed to  show  a  traditionary  knowledge  of  its  former 
existence,  and  foretelhng  that  from  the  rising  of  the 


THE    COZUMEL  CROSS. 


377 


sun  should  come  a  bearded  people  and  white,  who 
should  carry  aloft  the  sign  of  the  cross,  which  their 
gods  could  not  reach,  and  from  which  they  should 
fly  away.  The  same  vague  idea  exists  to  this  day, 
and,  in  general,  when  the  padres  pay  any  attention 
to  the  antiquities  of  the  country,  they  are  always 
quick  in  discovering  some  real  or  imaginary  resem- 
blance to  the  cross.  A  strong  support  of  this  belief 
is  advanced  in  the  "  Cozumel  Cross"  at  Merida, 
found  on  the  island  of  Cozumel,  and  in  the  time  of 
Cogolludo,  as  at  this  day,  supposed  to  have  been  an 
object  of  reverence  among  the  Indians  before  their 
conversion  to  Christianity. 

Until  the  destruction  of  that  edifice  it  stood  on  a 
pedestal  in  the  patio  of  the  Franciscan  convent, 
and,  as  we  were  told,  from  the  time  when  it  was 
placed  there,  no  lightning  had  ever  struck  the  build- 
ing, as  had  often  happened  before.  It  is  now  in  the 
Church  of  the  Mejorada,  and  in  looking  for  it  at 
that  place,  Mr.  Catherwood  and  myself  were  invited 
into  the  cell  of  an  octogenarian  monk  then  lying 
in  his  hammock,  for  many  years  unable  to  cross  the 
threshold  of  his  door,  but  in  the  full  exercise  of  his 
mental  powers,  who  told  us,  in  a  tone  which  seemed 
to  indicate  that  he  had  done  what  would  procure 
him  a  remission  from  many  sins,  that  he  had  him- 
self dug  it  up  from  among  the  ruins,  and  had  it  set 
up  where  it  is  now  seen.  It  is  fixed  in  the  wall  of 
the  first  altar  on  the  left,  and  is  almost  the  first  ob- 
ject that  arrests  the  eye  of  one  entering  the  church. 

Vol,  IL— B  b  b 


378 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


It  is  of  Stone,  has  a  venerable  appearance  of  anti- 
quity, and  has  extended  on  it  in  half  rehef  an  image 
of  the  Saviour,  made  of  plaster,  with  the  hands  and 
feet  nailed.  At  the  first  glance  we  were  satisfied 
that,  whatever  might  be  the  truth  in  regard  to  its 
early  history,  it  was,  at  least,  wrought  into  its  pres- 
ent shape  under  the  direction  of  the  monks.  And 
though,  at  that  time,  we  did  not  expect  ever  to  know 
anything  more  about  it,  the  ruins  of  this  church 
cleared  up  in  our  minds  all  possible  mystery  con- 
nected with  its  existence. 

In  front  of  the  building  is  a  cemented  platform, 
broken  and  uprooted  by  trees,  but  still  preserving 
its  form ;  and  on  this  stand  two  square  pillars, 
which,  as  we  supposed  on  the  spot,  had  once  sup- 
ported crosses,  and  we  were  immediately  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  one  of  these  missing  symbols  was 
that  now  known  as  the  "  Cozumel  Cross,"  and  that 
it  had  probably  been  carried  away  by  some  pious 
monk  at  or  about  the  time  when  the  church  became 
a  ruin  and  the  island  depopulated.  For  myself,  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  fact ;  and  I  regard  it  as  impor- 
tant, for,  even  though  crosses  may  have  been  found 
in  Yucatan,  the  connecting  of  the  "  Cozumel  Cross" 
with  the  ruined  church  on  the  island  completely  in- 
validates the  strongest  proof  offered  at  this  day  that 
the  cross  was  ever  recognised  by  the  Indians  as  a 
symbol  of  worship. 

At  noon  we  had  finished  all  our  work,  but  there 
was  a  charm  about  our  absolute  proprietorship  of 


RARE    BIRDS.  A    SUDDEN    STORM.  379 

this  desolate  island  which  made  us  regret  that  there 
was  not  more  to  give  us  occupation.  Doctor  Ca- 
bot found  in  it  a  rich  field  for  his  ornithological.pur- 
suits,  but  he  was  rather  unfortunate.  Two  speci- 
mens of  rare  birds,  which  he  had  dissected  and  put 
away  to  dry,  were  destroyed  by  ants.  In  the  clear- 
ing was  a  dead  tree,  holding  on  its  topmost  branch- 
es the  nest  of  a  hawk  of  a  rare  species,  the  eggs 
of  which  were  unknown  to  naturalists.  The  nest 
seemed  to  have  been  built  in  apprehension  of  our 
visit.  The  dead  branches  were  barely  able  to  sup- 
port it,  and  would  evidently  bear  no  additional 
weight.  The  patron  and  sailors  cut  down  the  tree, 
and  the^  eggs  were  broken,  but  preserved  in  frag- 
ments. 

In  the  afternoon  we  picked  up  shells  along  the 
shore,  and  toward  evening  we  again  took  a  bath; 
while  we  were  in  the  water  black  clouds  gather- 
ed suddenly,  thunder  rolled,  lightning  flashed,  and 
sea-birds  flew  screaming  over  our  heads.  Rain 
following  quickly,  we  snatched  up  our  clothing 
and  ran  for  the  hut.  Looking  back  for  a  moment, 
we  saw  our  canoa  under  way,  with  scarcely  a 
yard  of  mainsail,  and  seeming  like  a  great  bird  fly- 
ing over  the  water.  As  she  turned  the  point  of 
the  island  and  disappeared  our  fears  were  roused. 
From  our  experience  of  a  little  rough  weather  we 
judged  it  impossible  for  her  to  live  through  a  storm 
SO  sudden  and  violent;  and  our  sense  of  thankful- 
ness at  not  being  on  board  made  us  feel  more  sen- 


380 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


sibly  the  danger  of  those  who  were.    The  patron 
was  not  familiar  with  the  coast,  there  was  but 
one  place  in  which  he  could  find  shelter,  a  narrow 
passage,  difficult  to  enter  even  by  daylight,  and 
night  was  almost  upon  him ;  Mr.  Catherwood  had 
timed  the  precise  moment  when  he  turned  the  point, 
and  we  knew  that  the  canoa  would  not  be  able  to 
reach  the  cove  before  dark,  but  would  have  to  ride 
through  the  storm,  and,  perhaps,  be  driven  to  sea. 
It  was  fearful  to  think  of  the  danger  of  the  poor 
patron  and  sailors ;  and  mingled  with  these  fears 
was  some  little  uneasiness  on  our  own  account.  All 
our  luggage  and  provisions  were  on  board,  as  we 
had  intended  to  sail  early  the  next  morning.  The 
storm  had  come  up  so  suddenly  that  though  Albino 
stood  on  the  bank  entreating,  the  patron  would  not 
w^ait  to  put  a  single  thing  on  shore.    We  had  only 
our  box  of  table  service,  with,  coffee,  sugar,  tea,  cho- 
colate, and  a  few  biscuit ;  even  if  no  accident  hap- 
pened, several  days  might  elapse  before  the  canoa 
could  return,  and  if  she  never  returned  we  should 
be  five  Robinson  Crusoes,  all  alone  on  a  desert  isl- 
and.   We  had  our  guns  to  look  to  for  provisions, 
but,  unluckily,  we  had  an  unusually  small  quantity 
of  ammunition  on  shore.    As  the  storm  raged  our 
apprehensions  ran  high,  and  we  had  got  so  far  as  to 
calculate  our  chances  of  reaching  the  mainland  by  a 
raft,  finding  some  relief  in  the  occupation  of  mov- 
ing our  hammocks  occasionally  to  avoid  the  raiaias 
it  beat  through  the  thatched  roof,  and  at  length  we 
fell  asleep. 


AN    IRON-BOUND  COAST. 


381 


CHAPTER  XXL 

Search  for  the  Canoa. — An  Iron-bound  Coast. — A  wild  Opening. 
— A  sheltered  Cove. — The  Canoa  found. — The  Account  of  the 
Patron, — A  Man  overboard. — Return. — Sea-shells. — Departure 
from  Cozumel. — Coast  of  Yucatan. — Square  Buildings. — First 
Sight  of  the  Castillo  of  Tuloom. — Rancho  of  Tancar, — MoIels. — 
His  two  Sons. — Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Tuloom. — Buildings  seen 
on  the  Way.  —  Magnificent  Scenery. — The  Castillo.- — Front 
View. — Grand  Staircase.  —  Columns.  —  Corridors. — The  Red 
Hand. — The  Wings  of  the  Castillo,  consisting  of  two  Ranges. 
— Devices  in  Stucco. — Flat  Roofs. — Back  View  of  the  Castillo. 
— A  Storm. — Sudden  Change  of  Feeling. — Ruined  Buildings. — 
Square  Terrace. — Picturesque  Sight. — Fragments  of  Tablets. — 
Isolated  Building. — Curious  Figure, — Paintings. — Discovery  of 
the  City  Wall. — Its  good  Preservation. — Gateways. — Watch- 
towers. — Buildings. — Ceilings  constructed  on  a  new  Principle. 
— Onslaught  of  Moschetoes. 

Very  early  in  the  morniog  we  were  moving.  The 
rain  had  ceased,  but  the  wind  was  still  high,  and  the 
waves  exhibited  its  power.  Albino  and  Bernaldo 
were  even  more  interested  in  the  missing  canoa 
than  we,  for  tea  and  coffee  were  nothing  to  them, 
and  our  supply  of  biscuit  being  exhausted  at  break- 
fast, they  had  literally  nothing  to  eat.  At  daylight 
Bernaldo  set  off  along  the  shore,  and  soon  after  I 
followed  with  Albino.  Passing  round  the  point 
which  had  cut  off  our  view  of  the  canoa,  we  came 
upon  what  might  well  be  called  an  iron-bound  coast, 
being  a  table  of  rock  rising  but  a  few  feet  above  the 


382 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


level  of  the  sea,  washed  by  every  storm,  until  it  had 
become  porous  and  full  of  holes,  and  the  edges  stuck 
up  like  points  of  rusted  iron.  The  vi^aves  w^ere  still 
dashing  over  them,  forming  great  whirlpools  in  the 
hollow  spaces,  and  suggesting  a  frightful  picture  of 
the  fate  of  any  unhappy  voyagers  who  might  have 
been  thrown  upon  them  ;  ^and  the  rocks  were  strew- 
ed with  staves  and  planks  from  some  wrecked  ves- 
sel After  walking  two  hours  I  became  satisfied 
that  the  canoa  must  have  taken  the  brunt  of  the 
storm,  and  my  apprehensions  were  seriously  excited 
w^hen  I  saw,  at  a  long  distance  beyond,  Bernaldo, 
whom  I  at  first  thought  I  had  overtaken,  but  dis- 
covered that  he  had  a  small  pyramid  on  his  head, 
consisting  of  cooking  vessel  and  provisions.  He 
had  met  one  of  the  sailors  coming  to  our  relief,  from 
whom  he  had  taken  his  burden,  and  was  then  re- 
turning. We  went  on,  and  after  three  hours'  pain- 
ful walking  reached  the  cove.  It  was  a  wild,  ab- 
rupt, and  narrow  opening  between  the  rocks,  about 
fifty  feet  wide,  with  perpendicular  sides,  and  leading 
into  a  sheltered  basin,  which,  while  the  sea  outside 
was  raging,  w^as  calm  and  quiet  as  a  pond.  At  the 
head  of  this  lay  the  canoa,  which  came  down  and 
took  me  on  board. 

From  the  simple  and  unaffected  account  of  the 
patron,  his  entry  into  the  cove  must  have  been  sub- 
lime. Night  had  overtaken  him,  and  he  supposed 
that  he  had  run  by,  when  a  flash  of  lightning  dis- 
closed the  narrow  passage,  and  he  turned  the  old 


SEA-SHELLS.  DEPARTURE.  383^^ 

canoa  short  into  the  very  middle  of  it.  In  passing 
through  he  struck  upon  a  sunken  rock,  lost  one  man 
overboard,  caught  him  by  the  light  of  another  flash, 
and  in  a  moment  was  in  still  water.  The  cove 
was  imbosomed  among  noble  trees.  The  water 
was  twenty  feet  deep,  and  so  clear  that  the  bottom 
was  distinctly  visible  ;  and, from  one  end  ran  a  creek, 
which  the  patron  said  was  navigable  for  canoes  into 
the  centre  of  the  island,  where  it  expanded  into  a 
lake.  Sails,  luggage,  Doctor  Cabot's  birds,  and  my 
copy  of  Cogolludo,  were  spread  out  to  dry,  and,  af- 
ter dining  upon  turtles'  eggs  laid  a  few  minutes  on 
the  coals,  I  set  out  on  my  return,  gathering  on  the 
way  an  unusual  harvest  of  shells.  Ever  since  we 
came  upon  the  coast  our  idle  moments  had  been 
employed  in  this  pleasant  occupation,  but  nowhere 
with  the  same  success  as  on  this  island.  Regular- 
ly, after  stripping  the  shore,  we  returned  in  a  few 
hours,  and  found  others  thrown  up,  pure  and  fresh 
from  the  sea.  I  was  seldom  more  fatigued  than 
when  I  reached  the  hut. 

On  the  third  day,  «it  twelve  o'clock,  the  canoa 
again  hove  in  sight,  working  her  way  round  the 
point,  and  in  a  short  time  was  at  her  old  anchor- 
age ground.  The  wind  was  still  so  high  that  the 
patron  was  afraid  to  remain ;  we  filled  our  water 
casks,  in  an  hour  were  on  board,  and  left,  solitary 
as  we  found  it,  the  once  populous  island  of  Cozu- 
mel.  A  hawk  mourning  over  its  mate,  which  we 
carried  away,  was  the  only  hving^thing  that  looked 


384  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

,  upon  onr  departure  ;  but  there  was  no  place  in  our 
whole  journey  that  we  left  with  more  regret. 

From  the  point  at  which  we  left  the  island,  the 
opposite  coast  of  Yucatan  was  dimly  visible,  and  I 
would  remark,  that,  from  our  own  observation  and 
from  information  given  to  us  by  others,  it  is  the  only 
point  from  which  the  opposite  coast  can  be  seen  at 
all,  whence  it  is  a  conclusion  almost  unquestionable 
that  it  was  from  this  same  point  Grijalva  steered 
for  Yucatan.  The  wind  was  high,  the  sea  rough, 
and  a  strong  current  was  sweeping  us  down  toward 
the  point  of  Cape  Catoche.  About  an  hour  before 
dark  we  got  across  the  current,  and  stood  up  along 
the  coast,  passing  three  low,  square  buildings,  appa- 
rently in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  but  the  sea 
was  so  rough  that  we  could  not  land  to  examine 
them.  The  account  of  the  expedition  of  Grijalva 
says,  "  After  leaving  the  island  of  Cozumel  we  saw- 
three  large  villages,  separated  two  miles  from  each 
other.  They  contained  a  great  number  of  stone 
houses,  with  high  towers,  and  covered  with  straw." 
This  must  have  been  the  \#ry  part  of  the  coast 
where  these  villages  were  seen.  The  whole  is  now 
covered  with  forest,  but  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  stone  buildings  visible  on  the  shore 
are  tokens  of  the  buried  towns  in  the  interior.  We 
ran  on  till  after  dark,  and  came  to  anchor  under  a 
projecting  point,  behind  a  reef  of  rocks.  In  the 
edge  of  the  water  was  a  square  enclosure  for  turtle, 
and  on  the  shore  a  deserted  fisherman's  hut. 


RANCHO    OF  TANCAR. 


385 


At  daylight  we  were  again  under  way.  We  pass- 
ed three  more  square  buildings  ;  but  as  the  coast  was 
rocky  we  could  not  land  without  endangering  the 
safety  of  our  precious  canoa  ;  and  far  off,  on  a  high 
chff,  stood  the  Castillo  of  Tuloom,  the  extreme  point 
at  which  we  were  aiming.  At  twelve  o'clock  we 
turned  a  point,  and  came  upon  a  long,  sandy  beach, 
forming  a  bay,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  small  col- 
lection of  huts,  composing  the  rancho  of  Tancar. 
The  entrance  was  difficult,  being  hemmed  in  by 
sunken  reefs  and  rocks.  Two  women  were  stand- 
ing in  the  doorway  of  one  of  the  huts,  except  the 
old  fisherman  the  only  persons  we  had  seen  along 
this  desolate  coast. 

It  was  this  point  which  we  expected  to  reach  by 
land  direct  from  Chemax.  The  reader  wil/  see  j;he 
circuit  it  has  cost  us  to  make  it,  but  the  first  glance 
satisfied  us  of  our  good  fortune  in  not  going  to  it  di- 
rect, ^)r  we  saw  the  frame  of  the  sloop  we  had  heard 
of  still  on  the  stocks,  which  probably  is  not  yet  fin- 
ished. We  should  not  have  been  able  to  get  a  ca- 
noa, and  should  hare  been  obliged  to  return  by  the 
same  road.  The  moment  the  stone  was  thrown  out 
we  were  in  the  water,  wading  ashore.  The  sun 
was  intensely  hot,  and  the  sand  burning.  In  front 
of  the  principal  hut,  beside  the  sloop,  was  a  thatched 
arbour  to  protect  the  carpenter  who  occasionally 
worked  upon  it.  Near  by  was  a  ruined  hut,  which 
we  had  cleared  out,  and  for  the  third  time  took  up 

Vol.  IL— C  o  c  33 


386 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


mxn  abode  in  a  habitation  erected  by  Molas.  On 
leaving  the  island  of  Cozumel  it  was  only  to  this 
desolate  point  on  the  coast  that  he  dared  venture. 
It  was  a  situation  that  again  suited  his  proscribed 
life,  and  having  no  fear  of  pursuit  from  the  interior, 
his  energy  and  industry  did  not  desert  him.  He 
again  cultivated  his  milpa,  and  again  laid  the  keel  of 
a  sloop,  being  the  same  which  we  then  saw^  unfin- 
ished. But,  finding  himself  growing  old,  in  a  meas- 
ure forgotten  and  afflicted  by  illness,  he  ventured  to 
appear  in  the  village  of  Chemax,  on  returning  from 
which,  as  before  mentioned,  with  a  single  Indian, 
while  yet  eight  leagues  from  Tancar  he  died  in  the 
road  ;  as  our  informant  expressed  it,  he  died  like  a 
dog,  without  aid  either  human  or  divine.  We  had 
heard  so  much  of  Molas,  of  his  long  succession  of 
calamities,  and  of  the  heavy  retribution  that  had 
been  poured  upon  his  aged  head,  and  we  had  seen 
so  much  of  his  unbroken  energy,  that,  in  spite  of  the 
violence  and  crimes  imputed  to  him,  our  sympathies 
were  excited;  and  having  heard  afierward  from  other 
sources  the  opinion  expressed  strongly,  that  during 
these  long  years  of  proscription  he  was  the  victim 
of  an  iniquitous  and  unrelenting  persecution,  I  draw 
a  veil  over  his  history.  It  was  but  a  year  since  he 
died,  and  his  two  sons  were  in  possession  of  the  ran- 
cho,  both  young  men,  who  paid  us  a  visit  soon  after 
our  arrival.  When  the  old  man  died  the  Indian 
left  the  body  in  the  road,  and  came  on  to  the  rancho, 
whence  these  young  men  went  up  and  buried  it  on 


RUINS    OF  TULOOM. 


387 


the  spot.  Afterward  they  went  again,  dug  it  up, 
put  it  in  a  box,  brought  it  to  the  rancho,  and  embark- 
ed with  it  in  a  canoa  for  San  Fernando,  where  some 
of  tlieir  kinsmen  lived.  On  the  way  they  were  over- 
taken by  a  storm,  thew  the  body  overboard,  and, 
said  our  informant,  that  was  the  last  of  poor  old  Mo- 
las.  The  elder  son  was  said  to  have  been  implica- 
ted with  his  father,  and  the  curse  seemed  entailed 
upon  him.  He  had  lost  entirely  the  use  of  one  eye, 
and  the  other  rolled  feebly  and  lustreless  in  a  watery 
orbit.    Probably  by  this  time  he  is  perfectly  blind. 

Our  first  inquiries  were  upon  the  subject  of  ruins. 
A  short  path  through  the  woods  leads  to  a  milpa,  in 
which  are  numerous  remains  of  ancient  buildings 
standing  on  terraces,  but  all  small  and  dilapidated. 
These  buildings  once  stood  erect  in  full  view  from 
the  sea,  but  now  the  stranger  sails  along  the  coast 
unconscious  that  among  the  trees  lie  shrouded  the 
ruins  of  an  aboriginal  town. 

In  the  afternoon  we  set  out  for  the  ruins  of  Tuloom, 
a  league  distant  on  the  coast,  and  with  the  Castillo 
on  a  high  clilf  in  full  sight.  Our  road  lay  for  a  mile 
and  a  half  along  the  shore.  The  beach  was  sandy, 
and  in  some  places  so  yielding  that  we  sank  above 
the  ankles,  and  found  it  a  relief  to  take  off  our  shoes 
and  stockings,  and  wade  in  the  edge  of  the  water. 
At  the  end  of  the  beach  was  a  high  rocky  promon- 
tory, standing  out  into  the  sea,  and  cutting  off  all 
progress  along  the  shore.    This  we  ascended,  and 


388 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


continued  along  the  cliff,  which  sloped  toward  the 
sea,  in  some  places  forming  a  perpendicular  wall,  and 
on  our  right  rose  great  masses  of  rock,  cutting  off  en- 
tirely the  view  of  the  Castillo.  In  half  an  hour  we 
Jffime  unexpectedly  upon  a  low  building,  apparent- 
ly a'n  adoratorio,  or  altar,  climbing  to  the  top  of 
which,  we  again  saw  the  Castillo.  Beyond  the 
chff  became  more  rugged  and  barren,  reminding  us 
of  the  witches'  gathering-place  in  the  Hartz  Mount- 
ains, as  described  in  the  Faust  of  Goethe;  and, 
amid  all  its  barrenness,  from  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks  sprang  a  thick  growth  of  scrubby  wild  palm 
called  tshike,  covering  the  whole  surface  of  the 
cliff.  Toiling  through  this,  we  reached  another  low 
building,  from  the  top  of  which  we  again  saw  El 
Castillo,  but  with  a  great  chasm  between,  apparent- 
ly cutting  off  all  hope  of  access.  By  this  time  it 
was  late,  and,  afraid  of  being  overtaken  by  dark- 
ness on  this  wild  range,  we  turned  back.  Night 
was  upon  us  when  we  again  reached  the  shore. 
The  sandy  beach  was  now^  a  welcome  relief,  and  at 
a  late  hour  we  again  reached  the  hut,  having  come 
to  a  rapid  conclusion  that  a  frequent  repetition  of 
this  walk  would  be  neither  pleasant  nor  profitable, 
and  that,  in  order  to  get  through  our  work  with  the 
celerity  we  aimed  at,  it  would  be  necessary  again  to 
take  up  our  abode  among  the  ruins. 

The  next  morning  we  set  out  for  that  purpose, 
escorted  by  the  younger  Molas,  a  fine  lad  of  about 
twenty,  who  considered  our  arrival  the  greatest  in- 


WILD  SCENERY. 


389 


cident  that  had  ever  occurred  at  Tancar,  and  be- 
fore we  reached  the  end  of  the  beach  he  wanted  to 
go  traveUing  with  us.  Ascending  the  chff,  and  pass- 
ing beyond  the  two  buildings  we  had  seen  the  day 
before,  we  descended  from  the  rear  of  the  last  to  the 
head  of  the  chasm  which  had  seemed  to  cut  us  off 
from  the  principal  object  of  our  visit ;  ascending 
again  at  the  other  end  of  the  ravine,  we  entered  a 
gloomy  forest,  and,  passing  a  building  on  the  left, 
with  "  old  walls"  visible  in  different  places  indistinct- 
ly through  the  trees,  reached  the  grand  staircase  of 
the  Castillo.  The  steps,  the  platform  of  the  build- 
ing, and  the  whole  area  in  front  were  overgrown 
with  trees,  large  and  principally  ramon,  which,  with 
their  deep  green  fohage  and  the  mysterious  buildings 
around,  presented  an  image  of  a  grove  sacred  to 
Druidical  worship. 

Our  boatmen  and  Molas  cut  a  path  up  the  steps, 
and,  carrying  up  their  loads,  in  an  hour  we  were 
domesticated  in  the  Castillo.  We  had  undertaken 
our  long  journey  to  this  place  in  utter  uncertainty 
as  to  what  we  should  meet  with ;  impediments  and 
difficulties  had  accumulated  upon  us,  but  already  we 
felt  indemniiied  for  all  our  labour.  We  were  amid 
the  wildest  scenery  we  had  yet  found  in  Yucatan ; 
and,  besides  the  deep  and  exciting  interest  of  the 
ruins  themselves,  we  had  around  us  what  we  want- 
ed at  all  the  other  places,  the  magnificence  of  na- 
ture. Clearing  away  the  platform  in  front,  we  look- 
ed over  an  immense  forest;  walking  around  the 


390 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


moulding  of  the  wall;  we  looked  out  upon  the 
boundless  ocean,  and  deep  in  the  clear  water  at  the 
foot  of  the  clilf  we  saw  gliding  quietly  by  a  great 
fish  eight  or  ten  feet  long. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  the 
Castillo.  A  few  of  the  trees  which  grew  around  it 
appear  in  the  engraving,  and  one  is  left  growing  on 
the  top  of  the  lower  range,  with  its  gnarled  roots 
binding  the  front  wall  and  obstructing  the  doorway, 
but  no  words  and  no  drawing  could  convey  a 
true  idea  of  the  solemnity  of  its  hving  shroud,  or 
of  the  impression  made  upon  us  when  the  ring  of 
the  axe  first  broke  the  stillness  that  had  so  long  pre- 
vailed around.  The  building,  including  the  wings, 
measures  at  its  base  one  hundred  feet  in  length.  The 
grand  staircase  is  thirty  feet  wide,  with  twenty-four 
steps,  and  a  substantial  balustrade  on  each  side,  still 
in  good  preservation,  gives  it  an  unusually  imposing 
character.  In  the  doorway  are  two  columns,  ma- 
king three  entrances,  with  square  recesses  above  them, 
all  of  which  once  contained  ornaments,  and  in  the 
centre  one  fragments  of  a  statue  still  remain.  The 
interior  is  divided  into  two  corridors,  each  twenty- 
six  feet  long ;  the  one  in  front  is  six  feet  six  inches 
wide,  and  had  at  each  end  a  stone  bench,  or  divan ; 
and  again  on  the  walls  we  found  the  mysterious 
prints  of  the  red  hand.* 

*  While  these  pages  were  passing  through  the  press  the  author 
had  an  opportunity  of  conferring  with  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  a  gentle- 
man well  known  for  his  researches  into  the  character  and  habits 


I 


THE  CASTILLO. 


391 


A  single  doorway  leads  to  the  back  corridor,  which 
is  nine  feet  wide,  and  has  a  stone  bench  extending 
along  the  foot  of  the  wall.  On  each  side  of  the 
doorway  are  stone  rings,  intended  for  the  support  of 
the  door,  and  in  the  back  wall  are  oblong  openings, 
which  admit  breezes  from  the  sea.  Both  apart- 
ments have  the  triangular-arched  ceihng,  and  both 
had  a  convenience  and  pleasantness  of  arrangement 
that  suited  us  well  as  tenants. 

The  wings  are  much  lower  than  the  principal 
building.  Each  consists  of  two  ranges,  the  lower 
standing  on  a  low  platform,  from  which  are  steps 
leading  to  the  upper.  The  latter  consists  of  two 
chambers,  of  which  the  one  in  front  is  twenty-four 
feet  wide  and  twenty  deep,  having  two  columns  in 
the  doorway,  and  two  in  the  middle  of  the  chamber 
corresponding  with  those  in  the  doorway.  The 
centre  columns  were  ornamented  with  devices  in 
stucco,  one  of  which  seemed  a  masked  face,  and  the 
other  the  head  of  a  rabbit.  The  walls  were  entire, 
but  the  roof  had  fallen ;  the  rubbish  on  the  floor 
was  less  massive  than  that  formed  in  other  places  by 
the  remains  of  the  triangular- arched  roof,  and  of  dif- 
ferent materials,  and  there  w^ere  holes  along  the  top 
of  the  wall,  as  if  beams  had  been  laid  in  them,  all 
which  induced  us  to  believe  that  the  roofs  had  been 

of  our  North  American  Indians,  and  was  favoured  by  him  with  an 
interesting  communication  on  the  subject  of  the  print  of  the  red 
hand,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  and  for  which  the  au- 
thor here  takes  occasion  to  offer  his  acknowledgments. 


392  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

flat,  and  supported  by  wooden  beams  resting  upon 
the  two  columns  in  the  centre.  From  this  apart- 
ment a  doorway  three  feet  wide,  close  to  the  wall 
of  the  principal  building,  leads  to  a  chamber  twenty- 
four  feet  wide  and  nine  feet  deep,  also  roofless,  and 
having  the  same  indications  that  the  roof  had  been 
flat  and  supported  by  wooden  beams. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  back  or  sea 
wall  of  the  Castillo.  It  rises  on  the  brink  of  a  high, 
broken,  precipitous  cliff,  commanding  a  magnificent 
ocean  view,  and  a  picturesque  line  of  coast,  being 
itself  visible  from  a  great  distance  at  sea.  The 
wall  is  solid,  and  has  no  doorways  or  entrances  of 
any  kind,  nor  even  a  platform  around  it.  At 
evening,  when  the  work  of  the  day  was  ended  and 
our  men  returned  to  the  hut,  we  sat  down  on  the 
moulding  of  the  wall,  and  regretted  that  the  door- 
ways of  our  lofty  habitation  had  not  opened  upon 
the  sea.  Night,  however,  wrought  a  great  change 
in  our  feelings.  An  easterly  storm  came  on,  and  the 
rain  beat  heavily  against  the  sea  wall.  We  were 
obhged  to  stop  up  the  oblong  openings,  and  con- 
gratulated ourselves  upon  the  wisdom  of  the  ancient 
builders.  The  darkness,  the  howling  of  the  winds, 
the  cracking  of  branches  in  the  forest,  and  the  dash- 
ing of  angry  waves  against  the  cliff,  gave  a  roman- 
tic interest,  almost  a  sublimity  to  our  occupation  of 
this  desolate  building,  but  we  were  rather  too  hack- 
neyed travellers  to  enjoy  it,  and  were  much  annoy- 
ed by  mochetoes. 


RUINED  BUILDINGS. 


393 


Our  first  day  did  not  suffice  to  finish  the  clearing 
of  the  area  in  front  of  the  Castillo.  Within  this 
area  were  several  small  ruined  buildings,  which 
seemed  intended  for  altars.  Opposite  the  foot  of 
the  steps  was  a  square  terrace,  with  steps  on  all  four 
of  its  sides,  but  the  platform  hhd  no  structure  of  any 
kind  upon  it,  and  was  overgrown  with  trees,  under 
the  shade  of  which  Mr.  Gather  wood  set  up  his 
camera  to  make  his  drawing ;  and,  looking  down 
upon  him  from  the  door  of  the  Castillo,  nothing 
could  be  finer  than  his  position,  the  picturesque  ef- 
fect being  greatly  heightened  by  his  manner  of  keep- 
ing one  hand  in  his  pocket,  to  save  it  from  the  at- 
tacks of  moschetoes,  and  by  his  expedient  of  tying 
his  pantaloons  around  his  legs  to  keep  ants  and  oth- 
er insects  from  running  up. 

Adjoining  the  lower  room  of  the  south  wing 
were  extensive  remains,  one  of  which  contained  a 
chamber  forty  feet  wide  and  nineteen  deep,  with 
four  columns  that  had  probably  supported  a  flat 
roof  In  another,  lying  on  the  ground,  were  the 
fragments  of  two  tablets,  of  the  same  character 
with  those  at  Labphak. 

On  the  north  side,  at  the  distance  of  about  forty 
feet  from  the  Castillo,  stands  a  small  isolated  build- 
ing, a  side  view  of  which  is  represented  in  the  en- 
graving opposite.  It  stands  on  a  terrace,  and  has  a 
staircase  eight  feet  wide,  with  ten  or  twelve  broken 
steps.  The  platform  is  twenty-four  feet  front  and 
eighteen  deep.    The  building  contains  a  single 

Vol.  IL— D  d  d 


394 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


room,  having,  like  the  Castillo,  a  triangular- arched 
roo£  Over  the  doorway  is  the  same  curious  figure 
w^e  saw  at  Saji,  with  the  head  dow^n  and  the  legs 
and  arms  spread  out ;  and  along  the  cornice  were 
other  curious  and  pecuhar  ornaments.  The  door- 
way is  very  low.  Thi'oughout  the  country  at  times 
we  had  heard  the  building  of  these  cities  ascribed 
to  corcubados,  or  hunchbacks,  and  the  unusual  low- 
ness  of  all  the  doorways,  with  the  strangeness  and 
desolation  of  all  around,  almost  gave  colour  to  the 
most  fanciful  belief. 

The  interior  of  this  building  consisted  of  a  sin- 
gle chamber,  twelve  feet  by  seven,  having  the  trian- 
gular-arched ceiUng,  and  at  each  end  a  raised  step 
or  divan.  The  w^all  and  ceiling  were  stuccoed 
and  covered  with  paintings,  the  subjects  of  which 
were  almost  entirely  effaced. 

The  day  ended  without  our  making  any  advan-  . 
ces  beyond  this  immediate  neighbourhood,  but  the 
next  was  made  memorable  by  the  unexpected  dis- 
covery that  this  forest-buried  city  was  encompassed 
by  a  wall,  which  had  resisted  all  the  elements  of 
destruction  at  work  upon  it,  and  was  still  erect  and 
in  good  preservation.  Since  the  beginning  of  our 
exploration  we  had  heard  of  city  walls,  but  all  ves- 
tiges of  them  elsewhere  had  been  uncertain,  and 
our  attempts  to  trace  them  unsatisfactory.  Young 
Molas  had  told  us  of  these,  and  was  on  the  ground 
early  to  guide  us  to  them.  We  set  out  without 
much  expectation  of  any  decided  result,  and,  fol- 


THE    CITY  WALL. 


395 


lowiag  him  through  the  woods,  all  at  once  found 
ourselves  confronted  by  a  massive  stone  struct- 
ure running  at  right  angles  to  the  sea;  and,  fol- 
lowing its  direction,  we  soon  came  to  a  gateway 
and  watch-tower.  We  passed  through  the  gateway, 
and  followed  the  wall  outside,  keeping  as  close  to 
it  as  the  trees  and  bushes  would  permit,  down  to 
the  sea.  The  character  of  this  structure  could  not 
be  mistaken.  It  was,  in  the  strictest  sense,  a  city 
wall,  the  first  we  had  seen  that  could  be  identified 
as  such  beyond  all  question,  and  gave  colour  to  the 
many  stories  we  had  heard  of  walls,  inducing  us  to 
beheve  that  many  of  the  vestiges  we  had  seen  were 
parts  of  continuous  lines  of  enclosure.  We  imme- 
diately set  about  a  thorough  exploration,  and  with- 
out once  breaking  off,  measured  it  from  one  end  to 
the  other. 

The  engraving  w^hich  follows  represents  the  plan 
of  this  wall,  as  taken  from  the  sea.  It  forms  a  par- 
allelogram abuttiug  on  the  sea,  the  high,  precipi- 
tous cliff  forming  a  sea  wall  1500  feet  in  length. 
We  began  our  survey  on  the  cliff  at  the  southeast 
angle,  where  the  abutment  is  much  fallen.  We 
attempted  to  measure  along  the  base,  but  the  close 
growth  of  trees  and  underbrush  made  it  difficult  to 
carry  the  line,  and  we  mounted  to  the  top.  Even 
then  it  was  no  easy  matter.  Trees  growing  be- 
side the  wall  threw  their  branches  across  it,  thorns, 
bushes,  and  vines  of  every  description  grew  out  of 
it,  and  at  every  step  we  were  obliged  to  cut  down 


396  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


A.  A.  Walls. 

B.  B.  Gateways. 

C.  C.  Watch-towers. 

D.  Castillo. 

E.  E.  Small  adoratorio. 

F.  F.  Casas. 


G.  G.  Buildings  last  discovered. 

II.  Building  with  wooden  roof. 

I.  Altar. 

J.  Guard  house. 

K.  Seuote  of  brackish  water. 

L.  L.  Thick  woods. 


the  Agave  Americana,  which  pierced  us  with  its 
long,  sharp  points ;  the  sun  beat  upon  us,  mosche- 
toes,  flies,  and  other  insects  pestered  us,  but,  un- 
der all  annoyances,  the  day  employed  on  the  sum- 
mit of  this  wall  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  we 
passed  among  ruins. 

The  wall  is  of  rude  construction,  and  composed 
of  rough,  flat  stones,  laid  upon  each  other  without 
mortar  or  cement  of  any  kind,  and  it  varies  from 
eight  to  thirteen  feet  in  thickness.  The  south  side 
has  two  gateways,  each  about  five  feet  wide.  At 
the  distance  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  the  wall 
turns  at  right  angles,  and  runs  parallel  to  the  sea. 
At  the  angle,  elevated  so  as  to  give  a  commanding 
view,  and  reached  by  ascending  a  few  steps,  is  the 


A    WATCH-TOWER.  397 

watch-tower  represented  in  the  following  engraving. 


It  is  twelve  feet  square,  and  has  two  doorways. 
The  interior  is  plain,  and  against  the  back  wall  is  a 
small  akar,  at  which  the  guard  might  offer  up  pray- 
ers for  the  preservation  of  the  ^ity-  But  no  guard 
sits  in  the  watch-tower  no^;  trees  are  growing 
around  it ;  within  the  walb  the  city  is  desolate  and 
overgrown,  and  without  is  an  unbroken  forest.  The 
battlements,  on  which  the  proud  Indian  strode  with 
his  bow  and  arraw,  and  plumes  of  feathers,  are  sur- 
mounted by  immense  thorn  bushes  and  overrun  by 

34 


398 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


poisonous  vines.  The  city  no  longer  keeps  watch ; 
the  fiat  of  destruction  has  gone  out  against  it,  and 
in  soKtude  it  rests,  the  abode  of  silence  and  desola- 
tion. 

The  vv^est  line,  parallel  with  the  sea,  has  a  single 
gateway ;  at  the  angle  is  another  watch-tower,  like 
that  before  presented,  and  the  wall  then  runs  straight 
to  the  sea.  The  whole  circuit  is  twenty-eight  hun- 
dred feet,  and  the  reader  may  form  some  idea  of  its 
state  of  preservation  from  the  fact  that,  except  to- 
ward the  abutments  on  the  sea,  we  measured  the 
whole  length  along  the  top  of  the  wall.  The  plan 
12  symmetrical,  encloses  a  rectangular  area,  and,  as 
appears  in  the  engraving,  the  Castillo  occupies  the 
principal  and  central  position.  This,  however,  on 
account  of  the  overgrown  state  of  the  area,  we 
were  not  aware  of  until  the  plan  was  drawn  out. 

On  the  \iorth  side  of  the  wall,  near  the  east  gate- 
way, is  a  building  thirty-six  feet  in  front  and  thirty- 
four  deep,  divided  into  two  principal  and  two  smaller 
rooms,  the  ceihngs  of  which  had  entirely  fallen.  At 
one  corner  is  a  senote,  with  the  remains  of  steps 
leading  down  to  and  containing  brackish  water. 
Near  this  was  a  hollow  rock,  which  furnished  us 
with  our  supply. 

Toward  the  southeast  corner  of  the  wall,  on  the 
brow  of  the  chff,  stands  a  Wilding  fifteen  feet  front 
and  ten  deep.  The  interior  is  about  seven  feet 
high,  and  the  ceiling  is  flat,  and  discloses  an  entirely 
new  principle  of  construction.    It  has  four  princi- 


FLAT    ROOFS.  399 

pal  beams  of  wood,  about  six  inches  in  diameter, 
laid  on  the  top  of  the  wall  from  end  to  endg|J|  the 
chamber,  with  smaller  beams,  about  three  inches  in 
diameter,  laid  across  the  larger  so  closely  as  to  touch; 
and  on  these  crossbeams  is  a  thick  mass  of  mortar 
and  large  pebbles,  which  was  laid  on  moist,  and 
now  forms  a  solid  crust,  being  the  same  materials 
which  we  had  seen  in  ruins  on  the  floors  of  other 
rooms.  Against  the  back  wall  was  an  altar,  with  a 
rude  triangular  stone  upon  it,  which  seemed  to  bear 
marks  of  not  very  distant  use.  On  each  side  of 
the  doorway  were  large  sea-shells  fixed  in  the  wall 
for  the  support  of  the  doors. 

These  were  all  the  buildings  to  which  young  Mo- 
las  conducted  us,  and  he  said  there  were  no  others 
within  the  area  of  the  walls,  but  there  were  many  ves- 
tiges without ;  and  it  was  our  belief  that  the  walls  en- 
closed only  the  principal,  perhaps  the  sacred  buildings, 
and  that  ruins  existed  to  a  great  distance  beyond ;  but, 
with  only  young  Molas  and  one  boatman,  being  all 
that  the  patron  could  spare  at  a  time,  we  did  not 
consider  it  worth  while  to  attempt  any  exploration ; 
in  fact,  our  occupation  of  this  walled  city  was  too 
much  disturbed  to  allow  us  to  think  of  remaining 
long.  A  legion  of  fierce  usurpers,  already  in  posses- 
sion, were  determined  to  drive  us  out,  and  after  hard 
work  by  day,  we  had  no  rest  at  night ; 

"  There  was  never  yet  philosopher 
That  could  endure  the  toothache  patiently  ;" 

and  I  will  venture  to  say  that  a  philosopher  would 


40t)  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

find  the  mosclietoes  of  Tuloom  worse  than  the  tooth- 
ach^l^  We  held  our  ground  against  them  for  two 
nights,  but  on  the  third,  one  after  the  other,  we  crawl- 
ed out  of  our  hammocks  to  the  platform  before  the 
door.  The  mooi^  was  shining  magnificently,  Hght- 
ing  up  the  darkness  of  the  forest,  and  drawing  a  long 
silvery  line  upon  the  sea.  For  a  time  we  felt  our- 
selves exalted  above  the  necessity  of  sleep,  but  by  de- 
grees drowsiness  overcame  us,  and  at  last  we  were 
all  stretched  at  full  length  on  the  ground.  The  on- 
slaught was  again  terrible  ;  we  returned  to  our  ham- 
mocks, but  found  no  peace,  and  emerging  again,  kin- 
dled a  large  fire,  and  sat  down  to  smoke  till  daylight. 
It  was  aggravating  to  look  the  moon  in  the  face,  its 
expression  was  so  calm  and  composed.  A  savage 
notice  to  quit  was  continually  buzzing  in  our  ears, 
and  all  that  we  cared  for  was  to  get  away. 


DISCOVERY    OF    A  BUILDING. 


401 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Discovery  of  a  Building. — Two  others. — Description  of  the  first 
Building. — Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Columns. — Corridor. — Paint- 
ings.— Central  Chamber. — Altar. — Upper  Story. — Stone  Tab- 
lets.— Another  Building. — Mutilated  Figure. — Apartments. — Al- 
tar.— A  third  Building. — This  City  seen  by  the  early  Spanish 
Voyagers. — Continued  to  be  occupied  after  the  Conquest. — Ad- 
oratorios. — Accounts  of  ruined  Cities  in  the  Interior. — Return 
Voyage. — Sea-sickness. — Nesuc.  —  Kancune.  —  Ruined  Build- 
ings.— Island  of  Mugeres. — Sea-birds. — Appearance  of  the  Isl- 
and.— A  hideous  Funeral  Pile. — Ibises. — Lafitte. — Piratical  As- 
sociations.— Confession  of  a  Pirate. — Visit  to  the  Ruins. — A 
lonely  Edifice.  —  Grand  Scene.  —  Corridors. — Inscriptions. — 
Square  Building. — Account  of  Bernal  Dias. — Departure  from 
the  Island. — Catoche. — Yalahao. — Ancient  Mound. — El  Cuyo. 
An  old  Acquaintance  in  Misfortune. 

The  next  raoraing  we  finished  what  remained  to 
be  done,  and,  after  an  early  dinner,  prepared  to  leave 
the  ruins.  While  the  men  were  arranging  th^ir  loads 
I  gave  Doctor  Cabot  a  direction  to  a  point  in  the 
wall,  where,  in  measm-ing  around  it,  Mr.  Catherwood 
and  I  had  started  two  ocellated  turkeys.  He  set 
out  to  cut  his  way  in  a  straight  line  with  his  hunt- 
ing knife,  and  very  soon,  while  sitting  on  the  steps 
of  the  Castillo,  I  heard  him  calling  to  me  that  he  had 
come  upon  another  building  which  we  had  not  seen. 
Having  occasion  to  economize  shoe  leather  for  the 
walk  back  over  the  chiF,  I  at  first  hesitated  about 
going  to  it,  but  he  insisted.  He  was  so  near  that 
we  communicated  without  any  particular  effort  of 


402 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


voice,  but  I  could  see  nothing  of  him  or  of  the  build- 
ing. Follow^ing  his  path,  I  found  him  standing  be- 
fore it ;  and  v^hile  working  our  way  around  it  we  dis- 
covered two  others  near  by,  almost  invisible,  so 
dense  was  the  foliage  of  the  trees,  but  the  largest, 
except  the  Castillo,  and  most  important  of  any  we 
had  seen.  Our  plans  were  all  deranged,  for  we  could 
not  go  away  without  drawings  of  these  buildings. 
We  returned  to  the  steps  of  the  Castillo,  and  sum- 
moned all  hands  to  council.  The  men  had  their 
back-loads  ready,  Bernaldo  reported  two  tortillas 
as  the  stock  of  provisions  on  hand,  and  the  idea 
of  another  night  in  the  Castillo  struck  us  with  dis- 
may. We  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  sleep 
that  it  had  become  part  of  our  nature  ;  a  night's  rest 
was  indispensable,  and  we  determined  to  break  up 
and  return  the  next  day. 

Before  daylight  the  next  morning  Albino  set  off 
with  Molas  and  the  sailors,  and  by  the  time  Mr. 
Catherwood  arrived  on  the  ground  the  clearing  of 
the  first  building  was  made. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  the  front  of  this 
building.  It  faces  the  west,  measures  twenty-seven 
feet  in  length  and  nineteen  in  depth,  and  consists 
of  two  stories.  The  exterior  had  been  richly  dec- 
orated, and  above  the  cornice  were  fragments  of  rich 
ornaments  in  stucco.  The  lower  story  has  four 
columns,  making  five  doorways  opening  into  a  nar- 
row corridor,  which* runs  round  and  encloses  on 
three  sides  a  chamber  in  the  centre.    The  walls  of 


1 


RUINED  EDIFICES. 


403 


the  corridor  on  both  sides  were  covered  with  paint- 
ings, but  green  and  mildewed  from  the  rankness  of 
vegetation  in  which  the  building  is  smothered.  A 
small  doorway  in  front  opens  into  the  chamber, 
which  measures  eleven  feet  by  seven  ;  of  this,  too, 
the  walls  were  covered  with  paintings,  decayed  and 
effaced,  and  against  the  back  wall  was  an  altar  for 
burning  copal. 

The  building  on  the  top  stands  directly  over  the 
lower  chamber,  and  corresponds  with  it  in  dimen- 
sions, this  being  the  only  instance  we  met  with  in 
which  one  room  was  placed  directly  over  another. 
There  was  no  staircase  or  other  visible  means  of 
communication  between  the  lower  and  upper  sto- 
ries. 

At  the  rear  of  this  building  were  others  attached 
to  it,  or  connected  with  it,  but  uprooted  and  thrown 
down  by  trees,  and  among  the  ruins  were  two  stone 
tablets  with  rounded  surfaces,  six  feet  six  inches 
high,  two  feet  four  inches  wide,  and  eight  inches 
thick,  having  upon  them  worn  and  indistinct  traces 
of  sculpture. 

At  the  short  distance  of  fifty-three  feet  is  the 
building  represented  in  the  engraving  opposite.  It 
stands  on  a  terrace  six  feet  high,  with  a  staircase  in 
the  centre,  measures  forty-five  feet  by  twenty-six, 
has  two  pillars  in  the  doorway,  and  over  the  centre 
is  the  head  of  a  mutilated  figure.  The  interior  is 
divided  into  two  principal  and  parallel  apartments, 
and  at  the  no^h  extremity  of  the  inner  one  is  a 


404 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


smaller  apartment,  containing  an  enclosed  altar  five 
feet  long,  and  three  feet  six  inches  deep,  for  burning 
copal.  The  roof  had  fallen,  and  trees  were  grow- 
ing out  of  the  floor. 

Near  this  is  another  building,  larger  than  the  last, 
constructed  on  the  same  plan,  but  more  ruined. 
These  buildings  were  all  within  about  two  hundred 
feet  of  the  steps  of  the  Castillo.  We  were  in  the 
very  act  of  leaving  before  we  discovered  them,  and 
but  for  the  accidental  attempt  of  Doctor  Cabot  to 
cut  through  in  search  of  birds,  or  if  he  had  hap- 
pened to  cut  a  few  yards  to  the  right  hand  or  the 
left,  we  should  have  gone  away  ignorant  of  their 
existence. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  when  this  city  was 
inhabited  and  clear  of  trees,  the  buildings  were  all 
visible  from  the  sea ;  the  Spaniards  are  known  to 
have  sailed  along  this  coast,  and  the  reader  will  ask 
if  they  have  given  us  no  accounts  of  its  existence. 
The  narrative  of  the  expedition  of  Grijalva,  taken 
up  at  the  point  at  which  we  left  it,  after  crossing 
from  Cozumel,  continues :  "  We  ran  along  day  and 
night,  and  the  next  day  toward  sunset  we  saw  a 
bourg,  or  village,  so  large  that  Seville  would  not 
have  appeared  larger  or  better.  We  saw  there  a 
very  high  tower.  There  was  upon  the  bank  a 
crowd  of  Indians,  who  carried  two  standards,  which 
they  raised  and  lowered  as  signs  to  us  to  come  and 
join  them.  The  same  day  we  arrived  at  a  bay,  near 
which  was  a  tower,  the  highest  we  Jiad  seen.  We 


ACCOUNT    OF    THE    SPANIARDS.  405 

remarked  a  very  considerable  village ;  the  country 
was  w^atered  by  many  rivers.    We  discovered  a  bay 
ivhere  ajleet  ivould  have  heen  able  to  enter!'  This 
account  is  certainly  not  so  accurate  as  a  coast  sur- 
vey would  be  at  this  day,  but  it  is  more  minute  than 
most  accounts  of  the  early  voyages  of  the  Span- 
iards, and,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  all  sufficient  to  iden- 
tify this  now  desolate  city.    After  crossing  over  from 
Cozumel,  twenty-four  hours'  sailing  would  bring 
them  to  this  part  of  the  coast ;  and  the  next  circum- 
stance mentioned,  viz.,  the  discovery  of  a  bay  where 
a  fleet  would  have  been  able  to  enter,  is  still  stronger, 
for  at  the  distance  of  aboat  eight  leagues  below 
Tuloom  is  the  Bay  of  Ascension,  always  spoken  of 
by  the  Spanish  writers  as  a  harbour  in  which  the 
whole  Spanish  navy  might  lie  at  anchor.    It  is  the 
only  bay  along  the  coast  from  Cape  Catoche  into 
which  large  vessels  can  enter,  and  constrains  me  to 
the  belief  that  the  desolate  place  now  known  as  Tu- 
loom was  that  "  bourg,  or  village,  so  large  that  Se- 
ville would  not  appear  larger  or  better,"  and  that  the 
Castillo,  from  which  we  were  driven  by  the  mosche- 
toes,  was  that  "  highest  tower  which  the  Spaniards 
had  seen." 

Farther,  it  is  my  firm  belief  that  this  city  con- 
tinued to  be  occupied  by  its  aboriginal  inhabitants 
long  after  the  conquest,  for  Grijalva  turned  back 
from  the  Bay  of  Ascension,  again  passed  with- 
out landing,  and  after  the  disastrous  expedition  of 
Don  Francisco  Montejo,  the  Spaniards  made  no  at- 


400 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


tempt  upon  this  part  of  the  coast,  so  that  the  aborigi- 
nes must  have  remained  for  a  long  time  in  this  place 
unmolested.  And  the  strong  impression  of  a  com- 
paratively very  recent  occupation  is  derived  from 
the  appearance  of  the  buildings  themselves,  which, 
though  not  less  ruined,  owing  to  the  ranker  growth 
of  trees,  had  in  some  instances  an  appearance  of 
freshness  and  good  keeping  that,  amid  the  desola- 
tion and  solitude  around,  was  almost  startling. 

Outside  of  the  walls  are  several  small  buildings, 
no  doubt  intended  for  adoratorios,  or  altars,  one  of 
which  is  represented  in  the  following  engraving.  It 
stands  on  a  terrace,  having  a  circular  platform,  on 
the  brow  of  the  cliff,  overlooking  the  sea,  and  meas- 
ures fifteen  feet  front  by  twelve  deep.  The  door- 
way faces  the  north.  The  interior  consists  of  a 
single  chamber,  and  against  the  back  wall  is  an  al- 
tar in  such  a  state  of  preservation  as  to  be  fit  for  its 
original  uses.  Near  the  foot  of  the  steps,  overgrown 
by  the  scrubby  wild  palm  which  covers  the  whole 
cliff,  is  a  small  altar,  with  ornaments  in  stucco,  one 
of  which  seems  intended  to  represent  a  pineapple. 
These  wanted  entirely  the  massive  character  of  the 
buildings,  and  are  so  slight  that  they  could  almost 
be  pushed  over  with  the  foot.  They  stand  in  the 
open  air,  exposed  to  strong  easterly  winds,  and  al- 
most to  the  spray  of  the  sea.  It  was  impossible  to 
beheve  that  the  altar  had  been  abandoned  three 
hundred  years  ;  within  that  time  some  guardian  eye 
had  watched  over  it,  some  pious  hand  had  repaired 


AN  ALTAR. 


407 


it,  and  long  since  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  the 
Indian  had  performed  before  it  his  idolatrous  rites. 

Under  the  circumstances  attending  our  visit  to  it, 
we  found  this  one  of  the  most  interesting  places  v^e 
had  seen  in  our  w^hole  exploration  of  ruins  ;  but  I  am 
compelled  to  omit  many  details  deserving  of  descrip- 
tion and  comment,  and  shall  close  w^ith  one  remark. 
The  reader  knows  the  difficulty  we  had  in  reach- 


408 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


ing  this  place  from  the  interior.  The  whole  tiian- 
gular  region  from  Valladolid  to  the  Bay  of  Ascension 
on  one  side,  and  the  port  of  Yalahao  on  the  other, 
is  not  traversed  by  a  single  road,  and  the  rancho 
of  Molas  is  the  only  settlement  along  the  coast. 
It  is  a  region  entirely  unknown  ;  no  white  man 
ever  enters  it.  Ruined  cities  no  doubt  exist,  and 
young  Molas  told  us  of  a  large  building  many 
leagues  in  the  interior,  known  to  an  old  Indian, 
covered  with  paintings  in  bright  and  vivid  colours, 
and  the  subjects  of  which  were  still  perfect.  With 
difficulty  we  contrived  to  see  this  Indian,  but  he 
w^as  extremely  uncommunicative  ;  said  it  was  many 
years  since  he  saw  the  building ;  that  he  had  come 
upon  it  in  the  dry  season  while  hunting,  and  should 
not  be  able  to  find  it  again.  It  is  my  belief  that 
within  this  region  cities  like  those  we  have  seen 
in  ruins  were  kept  up  and  occupied  for  a  long  time, 
perhaps  one  or  two  centuries,  after  the  conquest,  and 
that,  down  to  a  comparatively  late  period,  Indians 
were  living  in  them,  the  same  as  before  the  discov- 
ery of  America.  In  fact,  I  conceive  it  to  be  not 
impossible  that  within  this  secluded  region  may  ex- 
ist at  this  day,  unknown  to  white  men,  a  living  ab- 
original city,  occupied  by  relics  of  the  ancient  race, 
who  still  worship  in  the  temples  of  their  fathers. 

The  reader  will,  perhaps,  think  that  I  have  gone 
far  enough.  We  had  now  finished  our  voyage  along 
the  coast,  and  the  end  w^hich  we  had  in  view  was 
fully  accomphshed.    We  had  seen,  abandoned  and 


RETURN  VOYAGE. 


40% 


in  ruins,  the  same  buildings  which  the  Spaniards 
saw  entire  and  inhabited  by  Indians,  and  we  had 
identified  them  beyond  question  as  the  works  of  the 
same  people  who  created  the  great  ruined  cities  over 
which,  when  we  began  our  journey,  hung  a  veil  of 
seemingly  impenetrable  mystery.  At  that  time,  we 
believed  the  discovery  and  comparison  of  these  re- 
mains to  be  the  surest,  if  not  the  only  means,  of  re- 
moving this  veil ;  and  though  other  proofs  had  accu- 
mulated upon  us,  these  were  not  on  that  account  the 
less  interesting. 

Our  journey  in  this  direction  is  now  ended,  and 
our  course  is  homeward.  We  were  detained  one 
day  at  Tancar  by  a  storm,  and  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing the  patron  came  to  us  in  a  hurry  with  a  summons 
on  board ;  the  wind  had  veered  so  that  he  could  get 
out  of  the  harbour;  and,  bidding  good-by  to  the 
carpenter  and  Molas,  we  were  soon  under  way. 
The  wind  was  still  high,  and  the  sea  so  rough,  and 
kept  the  little  canoa  in  such  commotion,  that  in  half 
an  hour  nearly  all  our  party  were  sea-sick.  The 
servants  were  completely  disabled,  and  there  was  no 
chance  for  a  dinner.  We  had  a  strong  wind  and 
fair,  passed  several  small  square  stone  buildings,  like 
those  of  which  representations  have  been  given,  but, 
on  account  of  the  rough  sea  and  rocky  shore  we 
could  not  land,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  put  in  at 
Nesuc,  where  we  had  stopped  before,  distinguished 
by  its  solitary  palm  tree. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  were  again  under  way. 

Vol.  II.— F  f  f  35 


410  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

and  coasted  to  the  point  of  Kancune,  where  we 
landed  m  front  of  a  rancho  then  occupied  by  a  party 
of  fishermen.  Near  by  w^as  another  great  pile  of  the 
skeletons  of  turtles.  The  fishermen  were  busy  with- 
in the  hut  mending  their  nets,  and  seemed  to  be  lead- 
ing a  hardy,  independent,  and  social  life,  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  anything  seen  in  the  interior.  A  short 
walk  brought  us  to  the  point,  on  which  stood  two 
dilapidated  buildings,  one  entirely  fallen,  and  the 
other  having  dimensions  like  the  smallest  of  those 
seen  at  Tuloom.  It  was  so  intensely  hot,  and  we 
were  so  annoyed  by  miUions  of  sand-flies,  that  we 
did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  stay,  but  returned  to 
the  hut,  embarked,  and,  crossing  over,  in  two  hours 
reached  the  island  of  Mugeres.  Near  the  shore 
were  immense  flocks  of  sea-birds,  sitting  on  the  piles 
of  a  turtle  enclosure ;  over  our  heads  was  a  cloud 
of  white  ibises,  and,  somewhat  to  the  surprise  of  the 
fishermen,  our  coming  to  anchor  was  signalized  by 
a  discharge  of  heavy  bird  artillery,  and  a  splashing 
into  the  water  to  pick  up  the  dead  and  wounded. 
In  wading  ashore  we  stuck  in  a  mud-bank,  and  had 
time  to  contemplate  the  picturesque  beauty  of  the 
scene  before  us.  It  was  a  small  sandy  beach,  with 
a  rocky  coast  on  each  side,  and  trees  growing  down 
to  the  water,  broken  only  by  a  small  clearing  oppo- 
site the  beach,  in  which  were  two  palm  leaf  huts, 
and  an  arbour  covered  with  palm  leaves.  Under 
the  arbour  hung  three  small  hammocks,  and  a  hardy, 
sun-dried  fisherman  sat  repairing  a  net,  with  two  In- 


ISLAND    OF  MUGERES. 


411 


dian  bojs  engaged  in  weaving  a  new  one.  The  old 
fisherman,  without  desisting  from  his  work,  invited 
us  to  the  hammocks,  and,  to  satisfy  our  invariable 
first  want  on  this  coast,  sent  a  boy  for  water,  which, 
though  not  good,  was  better  than  that  on  board. 

Along  the  shore,  at  no  great  distance,  was  a  funer- 
al pile  of  the  carcasses  of  turtles,  half  burned,  and 
covered  with  countless  millions  of  flies,  actually  heav- 
ing and  moving  as  if  alive ;  and  near  this  hideous 
pile,  as  if  to  contrast  beauty  and  deformity,  was  a 
tree,  covered  to  its  topmost  boughs  with  the  white 
ibis,  its  green  fohage  appearing  like  an  ornamental 
frame-work  to  their  snowy  plumage.  We  ordered 
our  dinner  to  be  brought  to  the  arbour,  and  as  we 
were  sitting  down  a  canoe  came  ashore ;  the  fisher- 
men dragged  across  the  beach  two  large  turtles,  and 
leaving  the  carcasses  to  swell  the  funeral  pile,  brought 
down  to  the  arbour  strings  of  eggs,  and  the  parts 
that  served  for  food  or  oil,  and  hung  them  quivering 
in  the  sun  along  the  fence,  their  sudden  blackness 
from  swarms  of  flies  disturbing  somewhat  the  satis- 
faction with  which  we  had  first  hailed  this  arbour. 
We  had  again  stopped  to  visit  ruins,  but  in  the  af- 
ternoon it  rained,  and  we  could  not  go  to  them. 
The  arbour  was  no  protection,  and  we  were  obhged 
to  go  inside  the  hut,  which  was  snug  and  comforta- 
ble, the  oil  jars  being  arranged  under  the  eaves,  with 
turtle-shells  tied  up  carefully  in  bundles,  and  on  the 
rafters  hung  strings  of  eggs,  while  nets,  old  sails, 
blocks,  and  other  characteristic  furniture  of  a  fish- 


412 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


erman's  hut  filled  up  the  comers.  It  was  no  hard- 
ship to  be  obUged  to  pass  the  afternoon  among  these 
fishermen,  for  then*  hardj,  independent  occupation 
gave  manhness  to  their  character,  and  freedom  to 
their  speech  and  manners. 

The  island  vras  famed  among  the  fishermen  as 
the  rendezvous  of  Lafitte  the  pirate,  and  the  patron 
told  us  that  our  host  had  been  his  prisoner  two 
years.  This  man  vs^as  about  fifty- five,  tall  and  thin, 
and  his  face  was  so  darkened  by  the  sun  that  it  was 
hard  to  say  whether  he  was  white  or  of  mixed 
blood.  We  remarked  that  he  was  not  fond  of  talk- 
ing of  his  captivity ;  he  said  he  did  not  know  how 
long  he  was  a  prisoner  nor  where  he  was  taken  ;  and 
as  the  business  of  piracy  was  rather  comphcated  in 
these  parts,  we  conceived  a  suspicion  that  he  had 
not  been  a  prisoner  entirely  against  his  will.  His 
fellow-fishermen  had  no  narrow  feelings  on  the 
subject,  and  perhaps  gave  a  preference  to  piracy  as 
a  larger  business,  and  one  that  brought  more  ounces, 
than  catching  turtles.  They  seemed,  however,  to 
have  an  idea  that  los  Ingleses  entertained  differ- 
ent views,  and  the  prisoner,  el  pobre,  as  our  patron 
called  him,  said  those  things  were  all  over,  and  it 
was  best  not  to  disturb  them.  He  could  not,  how- 
ever, help  dropping  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  La- 
fitte, or  Monsieur  Lafitta  ;  he  did  not  know  wheth- 
er it  was  true  what  people  said  of  him,  but  he  nev- 
er hurt  the  poor  fishermen,  and,  led  on  by  degrees 
he  told  us  that  Lafitte  died  in  his  arms,  and  that  his 


CONFESSION    OF    A    PIRATE.  413 

widow,  a  seiiora  del  Norte  from  Mobile,  was  then 
living  in  great  distress  at  Silan,  the  port  at  which 
we  intended  to  disembark. 

Besides  piratical  associations,  this  island  had 
been  the  scene  of  a  strange  incident  within  the 
last  two  years.    A  sailor  lay  on  his  death-bed  in 
Cadiz,  penniless  and  friendless,  and,  to  requite  the 
kindness  of  his  host  for  allowing  him  to  die  in 
his  house,  he  told  the  latter  that,  some  years  be- 
fore, he  had  belonged  to  a  band  of  pirates,  and 
upon  one  occasion,  after  taking  a  rich  prize  and 
murdering  all  on  board,  he  had  gone  ashore  with 
his  companions  at  the  island  of  Mugeres,  and  bu- 
ried a  large  sum  of  money  in  gold.     When  the 
piratical  hordes  were  broken  up  he  escaped,  and 
dared  not  return  to  regions  where  he  might  be  rec- 
ognised.   He  said  his  companions  were  all  hanged 
except  one  Portuguese,  who  lived  in  the  island  of 
Antigua,  and,  as  the  only  means  of  requiting  his 
host's  kindness,  he  advised  him  to  seek  out  the  Por- 
tuguese and  recover  the  money.    The  host  at  first 
thought  the  story  was  told  only  to  secure  a  contin- 
uance of  good  treatment,  and  paid  no  attention  to 
it,  but  the  sailor  died  protesting  its  truth.  The 
Spaniard  made  a  voyage  to  the  island  of  Antigua, 
and  found  out  the  Portuguese,  who  at  first  denied 
all  knowledge  of  the  transaction,  but  at  length  con- 
fessed it,  and  said  that  he  was  only  waiting  for  an 
opportunity  to  go  and  dig  up  the  gold.    Some  ar- 
rangement was  made  between  them,  and  the  Span- 
iard procured  a  small  vessel,  and  set  sail  with  the 


414 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


Portuguese  on  board.  The  vessel  became  short  of 
provisions  and  water,  and  off  Yalahao  encountered 
the  patron  of  our  canoa,  w^ho,  as  he  said,  on  re- 
ceiving twenty-five  dollars  in  advance,  piloted  her 
into  that  place  for  supplies.  While  there  the  story 
of  the  treasure  leaked  out ;  the  Portuguese  tried  to 
escape,  but  the  Spaniard  set  sail,  carrying  him  off. 
The  fishermen  followed  in  canoas.  The  Portu- 
guese, under  the  influence  of  threats,  indicated  a 
place  for  the  landing,  and  was  carried  on  shore 
bound.  He  protested  that  in  that  condition  he 
could  not  find  the  spot ;  he  had  never  been  there 
except  at  the  time  of  burying  the  gold,  and  required 
time  and  freedom  of  movement ;  but  the  Spaniard, 
furious  at  the  notoriety  given  to  the  thing,  and  at 
the  uninvited  company  of  the  fishermen,  refused  to 
trust  him,  and  set  his  men  to  digging,  the  fishermen 
joining  on  their  own  account.  The  digging  con- 
tinued two  days,  during  which  time  the  Portuguese 
was  treated  with  great  cruelty,  and  the  sympathy 
of  the  fishermen  was  excited,  and  increased  by  the 
consideration  that  this  island  was  within  their  fish  - 
ing limits,  and  if  they  got  the  Portuguese  into  their 
own  possession,  they  could  come  back  at  any  time 
and  dig  up  the  money  quietly,  without  any  wrangle 
with  strangers.  In  the  mean  time,  our  old  friend 
Don  Vicente  Albino,  then  living  at  Cozumel,  hear- 
ing of  treasure  on  an  island  belonging  to  nobody, 
and  so  near  his  own,  ran  down  with  his  sloop  and 
put  in  for  the  Portuguese.    The  Spanish  proprietor 


* 


VISIT    TO    THE    RUINS.  415 

was  obliged  to  give  him  up.  Don  Vicente  could  not 
get  hold  of  him,  and  the  fishermen  carried  him  off 
to  Yalahao,  where,  finding  himself  out  of  the  actual 
grasp  of  any  of  them,  he  set  up  for  himself,  and  by 
the  first  opportunity  slipped  off  in  a  canoa  for  Cam- 
peachy,  since  which  he  had  never  been  heard  of. 

Early  in  the  morning,  under  the  guidance  of  two 
of  the  fishermen,  we  set  out  to  visit  the  ruins.  The 
island  of  Mugeres  is  between  four  and  five  miles 
long,  half  a  mile  wide,  and  four  miles  distant  from 
the  mainland.  The  ruins  were  at  the  north  end. 
For  a  short  distance  we  kept  along  the  shore,  and 
then  struck  into  a  path  cut  straight  across  the  isl- 
and. About  half  way  across  we  came  to  a  santa 
cruz,  or  holy  cross,  set  up  by  the  fishermen,  at 
which  place  we  heard  distinctly  the  sound  of  the 
breakers  on  the  opposite  shore.  To  the  right  a 
faint  track  was  perceptible,  which  soon  disappeared 
altogether ;  but  our  guides  knew  the  direction,  and, 
cutting  a  way  with  the  machete,  we  came  out  upon 
a  high,  rocky,  perpendicular  cliff,  which  commanded 
an  immense  expanse  of  ocean,  and  against  which 
the  waves,  roused  by  the  storm  of  the  night  before, 
were  dashing  grandly.  We  followed  along  the 
brink  of  the  cliff  and  around  the  edges  of  great  per- 
pendicular chasms,  the  ground  being  bare  of  trees 
and  covered  with  a  scrubby  plant,  called  the  uba, 
with  gnarled  roots  spreading  like  the  branches  of 
a  grape-vine.  At  the  point  terminating  the  island, 
standing  boldly  upon  the  sea,  was  the  lonely  edifice 


416 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


represented  in  the  engraving  opposite.  Belovi^, 
rocking  on  the  waves,  was  a  small  canoa,  with  our 
host  then  in  the  act  of  getting  on  board  a  turtle. 
It  was  the  wildest  and  grandest  scene  we  had 
looked  upon  in  our  whole  journey. 

The  steps  which  led  to  the  building  are  in  good 
preservation,  and  at  the  foot  is  a  platform,  with  the 
ruins  of  an  altar.  The  front,  on  one  side  of  the  door- 
way, has  fallen.  When  entire  it  measured  twenty- 
eight  feet,  and  it  is  fifteen  feet  deep.  On  the  top  is 
a  cross,  probably  erected  by  the  fishermen.  The  in- 
terior is  divided  into  two  corridors,  and  in  the  wall 
of  that  in  front  are  three  small  doorways  leading  to 
the  inner  corridor.  The  ceiUng  had  the  triangular 
arch,  and  throughout  the  hand  of  the  builders  on 
the  mainland  could  not  be  mistaken,  but  on  the 
walls  were  writings  which  seemed  strangely  famil- 
iar in  an  aboriginal  building.  These  inscriptions 
were, 

D.  Doyle,  1842.  A.  C.  Goodall,  1842. 

H.  M.  Ship  Blossom. 
11th  October,  1811.    Corsaire  FraiKjes  (Cliebek)  le  Vengeur, 
Capt.  Pierre  Liovet ; 

and  wafered  on  the  wall  on  separate  cards  were  tlie 
names  of  the  officers  of  the  Texan  schooners  of  war 
San  Bernard  and  San  Antonio. 

At  the  distance  of  a  few  hundred  feet  w^s  anoth- 
er building  about  fourteen  feet  square,  having  font. 
doorways,  with  steps  on  three  sides,  dilapidated,  and 


* 


\ 


ACCOUNT    OF    BERNAL  DIAS. 


417 


almost  inaccessible  on  account  of  the  thickets  of 
cactus  and  thorn  bushes  growing  around  it. 

In  the  account  given  by  Bernal  Dias  of  the  ex- 
pedition of  Cortez,  he  says  that,  after  leaving  the 
island  of  Cozumel,  the  fleet,was  separated  by  a  gale 
of  w^ind,  but  the  next  day  all  the  ships  joined  com- 
pany except  one,  vi^hich,  according  to  the  surmise 
of  the  pilot,  was  found  in  a  certain  bay  on  the  coast 
wind  bound.  "  Here,"  says  Bernal  Dias,  "  several  of 
our  companions  went  on  shore,  and  found  in  the 
town  hard  by,  four  temples,  the  idols  in  which  rep- 
resented human  female  figures  of  large  size,  for  which 
reason  we  named  this  place  Punta  de  las  Mugeres," 
or  the  Point  of  the  Women.  Gomarra  speaks  of  a 
Cape  Mugeres,  and  says,  "  At  this  place  there  were 
towers  covered  with  wood  and  straw,  in  which,  in 
the  best  order,  were  put  many  idols,  that  appeared  to 
be  representations  of  women."  No  mention  is  made 
by  any  of  the  old  historians  of  the  island  of  Muge- 
res, but  there  is  no  point  or  cape  on  the  mainland  ; 
and,  considering  the  ignorance  of  the  coast  which 
must  have  existed  in  the  early  voyages,  it  is  not  im- 
possible to  beheve  that  the  Spaniards  gav%  to  the 
promontory  on  which  these  buildings  stand  the  name 
of  point  or  cape,  in  which  case  the  building  pre- 
sented in  the  engraving  may  be  one  of  the  temples 
or  towers  referred  to  by  Bernal  Dias  and  Gomarra. 

We  returned  to  the  hut  ready  to  embark,  and  at 
twelve  o'clock  we  took  leave  of  the  fishermen,  and 
were  again  on  board  our  canoa. 

Vol.  IL— G  g  g 


418 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  wind  was  fair  and  strong,  and  very  soon  we 
reached  the  point  of  the  island.  Toward  dark  we 
doubled  Catoche,  and,  for  the  first  time  coasting  all 
night,  day  broke  upon  us  in  the  harbour  of  Yalahao. 
After  the  desolate  regioj^s  we  had  been  visiting,  the 
old  pirates'  haunt  seemed  a  metropolis.  We  an- 
chored on  a  mud-bank  leg  deep,  and  now  discover- 
ed that  our  patron,  hired  only  for  the  occasion,  in- 
tended to  leave  us,  and  substitute  another.  Afraid 
of  the  men  following,  and  subjecting  us  to  detention, 
we  forwarded  a  threatening  message  to  the  agent, 
and  remained  on  board. 

At  seven  o'clock  we  were  again  under  way,  with 
the  wind  directly  astern,  and  as  much  as  we  could 
carry,  the  canoa  rolhng  so  that  we  were  compelled 
to  take  in  the  mainsail.  The  coast  was  low,  barren, 
and  monotonous.  At  three  o'clock  we  passed  an 
ancient  mound,  towering  above  the  huts  that  con- 
stituted the  port  of  El  Cuyo,  a  landmark  for  sailors, 
visible  at  sea  three  leagues  distant ;  but  our  patron 
told  us  that  there  were  no  buildings  or  vestiges  of 
ruins. 

At  fq^r  o'clock  we  saw  an  old  acquaintance  in 
misfortune.  It  was  the  brig  which  had  arrived  at 
Sisal  a  few  hours  after  we  did,  lying  a  wreck  on  the 
beach,  with  foremast  and  bowsprit  broken,  sails  strip- 
ped, but  the  hull  still  entire ;  probably  long  before 
this  the  shore  is  strewed  with  her  fragments. 


PORT    OF  SILAN. 


Mm 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Port  of  Silan.— Hospitality.— Breakfast.— Walk  along  the  Shore. 
— Flamingoes.—Shooting  Excursion  to  Punta  Arenas. — Wild 
Road.  —  Take  Possession  of  a  Hut.  —  Great  Variety  and  im- 
mense Numbers  of  Wild  Fowl. — Get  Stuck  in  the  Mud. — Fla- 
mingoes and  Spoonbills. — A  ludicrous  Adventure. — Dissection 
of  Birds. — Return  to  the  Port. — The  Quartel. — A  Catastrophe. 
— Departure. — Village  of  Silan. — Gigantic  Mound. — View  from 
its  Top. — Another  Mound. — Accounts  of  Herrera  and  CogoUu- 
do. — The  Grave  of  Lafitte. — Hospitality  of  the  Padres. — De- 
parture from  Silan. — Temax. — Church  and  Convent. — Izamal. 
/  — Fiesta  of  Santa  Cruz. — Appearance  of  the  City. — Mounds. — 

Colossal  Ornaments  in  Stucco. — Gigantic  Head. — Stupendous 
Mound. — Interior  Chambers. — Church  and  Convent. — Built  on 
an  ancient  Mound. — A  Legend. — A  Ball. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  we  crawled  out 
from  the  bottom  of  the  canoa,  and  found  her  an- 
chored off  the  port  of  Silan,  which  consisted  of  a 
few  huts  built  around  a  sandy  square  on  a  low,  bar- 
ren coast.  We  gave  portions  of  our  tattered  gar- 
ments to  the  waves,  and  waded  ashore.  It  was 
three  weeks  since  we  had  embarked ;  our  coast 
voyage  had  been  more  interesting  than  we  expect- 
ed, but  there  was  no  part  of  it  so  agreeable  as  the 
end ;  we  were  but  too  happy  to  get  rid  of  the  dis- 
comfort and  confinement  of  the  canoa.  The  pa- 
tron went  to  find  lodgings  for  us,  and  I  followed 
with  one  of  the  boatmen,  carrying  a  load.  A  man 
just  opening  the  door  of  a  sort  of  warehouse  called 


420 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


to  me,  and  offered  it  for  our  accommodation,  which, 
on  looking  within,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  accept. 
This  man  had  never  heard  of  us  nor  we  of  him, 
and,  probably,  neither  will  ever  hear  of  the  other 
again.  It  was  another  instance  of  the  universally 
kind  treatment  we  met  with  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

Silan  is  the  port  of  Izamal,  which  is  eleven 
leagues  distant.  According  to  our  arrangement,  Di- 
mas  was  to  meet  us  here  with  the  horses,  but  he  had 
not  arrived  or  been  heard  of  We  learned,  how- 
ever, that  there  was  no  green  food  to  be  procured 
at  this  place,  which  Dimas  had  probably  learned  at 
the  village,  three  leagues  distant,  and  had  therefore 
remained  at  that  place  ;  yet  we  had  some  uneasiness, 
as  he  had  to  make  a  journey  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  and  our  first  business  was  to  despatch 
Albino  for  information.  Next  we  had  a  great  en- 
terprise in  procuring  breakfast,  and  after  this  in 
providing  for  dinner,  which  we  determined  should 
be  the  best  the  country  afforded,  to  consist  of  fish 
and  fowl,  each  of  which  had  to  be  bought  separ- 
ately, and,  with  separate  portions  of  lard,  sent  to 
different  houses  to  be  cooked. 

During  the  interval  of  preparation  I  took  a 
walk  along  the  shore.  Toward  the  end  of  a 
sandy  beach  was  a  projecting  point,  on  a  line  with 
which  I  noticed  on  the  water  what  seemed  to  be  a 
red  cloud  of  singular  brilliancy,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  delicacy  of  colour,  which,  on  drawing  nearer, 


0 


SHOOTING    EXCURSION.  421 

I  found  to  be  a  flat  covered  with  flamingoes.  On 
my  retm*n  I  reported  the  discovery  to  Doctor  Cabot, 
when  our  host  gave  us  such  a  glowing  account  of 
flamingoes,  scarlet  ibises,  and  roseate  spoonbills  at 
Punta  Arenas,  about  two  leagues  distant,  that  my 
imagination  was  excited  by  the  idea  of  such  clouds 
of  beautiful  plumage.  Doctor  Cabot  was  anxious 
for  closer  acquaintance  with  the  birds,  and  we  de- 
termined, in  case  our  horses  arrived,  to  go  thither 
that  same  afternoon,  and,  after  a  few  hours'  shoot- 
ing, overtake  Mr.  Catherwood  the  next  day  at  Iza- 
mal.  In  good  time  our  horses  arrived  with  Dimas, 
in  fine  order ;  and  as  he  had  had  some  days'  rest, 
we  took  him  and  an  Indian  procured  by  our  host, 
and  at  about  four  o'clock  set  out.  For  the  first 
league  our  road  lay  directly  along  the  shore,  but  far- 
ther on  there  were  projecting  points,  to  cut  off  which 
a  footpath  led  among  mangrove  trees,  with  shoots 
growing  from  the  branches  into  the  ground,  forming 
what  seemed  a  naked  and  impenetrable  canebrake, 
surmounted  by  thick  green  fob  age.  In  many  pla- 
ces it  was  difficult  to  advance  on  horseback ;  from 
time  to  time  we  came  out  upon  a  broken,  stony 
shore,  and,  considering  that  we  had  set  out  merely 
for  a  short  ride,  we  found  ourselves  travelling  on  one 
of  the  wildest  roads  we  had  met  with  in  the  coun- 
try. At  dusk  we  reached  a  hut  in  a  beautifully 
picturesque  position,  imbosomed  in  a  small  bay,  with 
a  frail  bridge,  about  two  feet  wide,  running  out  some 
distance  from  the  shore,  and  a  canoa  floating  at  the 

36 


422  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

end.    The  hut  consisted  of  two  parts,  connected  by 
a  thatched  arbour,  empty,  and  apparently  begging 
for  a  tenant.    A  string  of  fish  hung  on  one  of  the 
beams,  and  on  the  ground  were  a  few  smothered 
coals.  ,^We  swung  our  hammocks,  kindled  a  fire,  and 
when  the  occupant  arrived  had  a  cup  of  chocolate 
ready  for  him,  and  endeavoured  to  make  him  feel 
himself  at  home  ;  but  this  was  no  easy  matter.  He 
was  a  lad  of  about  sixteen,  the  son  of  the  proprietor, 
who  had  gone  away  that  day,  the  fishing  season 
being  nearly  over.    He  certainly  was  not  expecting 
us,  and  was  taken  somewhat  by  surprise  ;  he  had 
never  seen  a  foreigner  in  his  life,  and  was  by  no 
means  reassured  when  we  told  him  that  we  had 
come  to  shoot  flamingoes  and  spoonbills.    Our  In- 
dian gave  him  some  indistinct  notion  of  our  object, 
of  which,  however,  he  must  have  had  a  very  imper- 
fect notion  himself ;  and  seeming  to  intimate  that  we 
were  beyond  his  comprehension,  or,  at  all  events,  en- 
tirely too  many  for  him,  the  boy  withdrew  to  the 
other  division  of  the  hut,  and  left  us  in  full  posses- 
sion.   Instead  of  a  rough  night  we  were  well  pro- 
vided for,  but,  unfortunately,  there  was  no  ramon  or 
water  for  the  horses.    We  made  an  affecting  appeal 
to  our  young  host,  and  he  spared  us  part  of  a  small 
stock  of  maize,  which  he  had  on  hand  for  the  ma- 
king of  his  own  tortillas,  but  they  had  to  go  with- 
out water,  as  none  could  be  procured  at  night. 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning  we  heard  a  loud  quack- 
ing of  ducks,  which  almost  lifted  us  out  of  our  ham- 


IMMENSE    NUMBERS    OF    WILD    FOWL.  423 


mocks,  and  carried  us  out  of  doors.    Beyond  the 
point  of  the  htile  dock  was  a  long  sand-bank,  cover- 
ed with  immense  flocks  of  these  birds.    Our  host 
could  not  go  with  us  till  he  had  examined  his  fish- 
ing nets,  and  Dimas  had  to  take  the  horses  to  water, 
but  we  pushed  off  with  our  Indian  to  set  the  canoe. 
Very  soon  we  found  that  he  was  not  familiar  with 
the  place,  or  with  the  management  of  a  canoe,  and, 
what  was  worse,  we  could  not  understand  a  word  he 
said.    Below  us  the  shore  formed  a  large  bay,  with 
the  Punta  de  Arenas,  or  Point  of  Sand,  projecting 
toward  us,  bordered  down  to  the  water's  edge  with 
trees,  and  all  over  the  bay  were  sand-banks,  barely 
appearing  above  water,  and  covered  with  wild  fowl 
of  every  description  known,  in  numbers  almost  ex- 
ceeding the  powers  of  conception.    In  recurring  to 
them  afterward.  Doctor  Cabot  enumerated  of  ducks, 
the  mallard,  pin-tail,  blooming  teal,  widgeon,  and 
gadwall ;  of  bitterns,  the  American  bittern,  least  bit- 
tern, great  and  lesser  egret,  blue  crane,  great  blue 
heron,  Louisiana  heron,  night  heron,  two  kinds  of 
rail,  one  clapper  rail,  white  ibis,  willets,  snipes,  red- 
breasted  snipe,  least  snipe,  semi-palmated  sandpi- 
per, black-breasted  plover,  marble  godwit,  long-bill- 
ed curlew,  osprey  or  fish-hawk,  black  hawk,  and  oth- 
er smaller  birds,  of  which  we  took  no  note,  and  all 
together,  with  their  brilHant  plumage  and  varied 
notes,  forming,  as  we  passed  among  them,  an  anima- 
ted and  exciting  scene,  but  it  was  no  field  for  sport- 
ing.   It  would  have  been  slaughter  to  shoot  among 


424  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

them.  In  an  hour  we  could  have  loaded  our  canoe 
with  birds,  of  which  one  or  two  brace  would  be  con- 
sidered a  fair  morning's  work.  But  we  did  not 
know  what  to  do  with  them,  and,  besides,  these  were 
not  what  we  were  looking  for.  A  single  flock  of 
flamingoes  flew  by  us,  but  out  of  reach,  and  at  the 
moment  we  were  stuck  in  the  mud.  Our  Indian 
made  horrible  work  in  setting  us,  and  continued  to 
hit  every  flat  till  we  reached  the  head  of  the  bay, 
and  entered  a  branch  like  a  creek.  Unable  to  hold 
discourse  with  him,  and  supposing  that  he  was  set- 
ting right,  we  continued  to  move  slowly  up  the  stream, 
until  we  found  that  we  were  getting  beyond  the  re- 
gion of  birds  ;  but  the  scene  was  so  quiet  and  peace- 
ful that  we  were  loth  to  return ;  and  still  on  each 
bank  the  snowy  plumage  of  the  white  ibis  appeared 
among  the  green  of  the  trees,  and  the  heron  stood 
like  a  statue  in  the  water,  turning  his  long  neck  al- 
most imperceptibly,  and  looking  at  us.  But  we  had 
no  time  for  quiet  enjoyment,  and  turned  back.  Near 
the  mouth  of  the  creek  a  flock  of  roseate  spoonbills 
flew  over  our  heads,  also  out  of  reach,  but  we  saw 
where  they  alighted,  and  setting  toward  them  till 
we  were  stopped  by  a  mud-bank,  we  took  to  the 
water,  or  rather  to  the  mud,  in  which  we  found  our 
lower  members  moving  suddenly  downward  to  parts 
unknown,  and  in  some  danger  of  descending  till  our 
sombreros  only  remained  as  monuments  of  our  mud- 
dy grave.  Extricating  ourselves,  moving  in  another 
direction,  and  again  sinking  and  drawing  back,  for 


A    LUDICROUS    ADVENTURE.  425 

two  hours  we  toiled,  struggled,  floundered,  and  fired, 
a  laughing  stock  to  the  beautiful  spoonbills  in  the  free 
element  above.  At  length  Dr.  Cabot  brought  one 
down,  and  we  parted.  In  following  our  separate  for- 
tunes along  the  shore  I  shot  one,  which  fell  at  the  oth- 
er side  of  a  stream.  As  I  rushed  in,  the  water  rose 
above  all  my  mud  stains,  and  I  fell  back,  and  hastily 
disencumbered  myself  of  clothing.  A  high  wind 
was  sweeping  over  the  bay ;  haviug  no  stone  at  hand 
with  which  to  secure  them,  my  hat  and  light  gar- 
ments were  blown  into  the  water,  and  at  the  same 
moment  the  roseate  bird  stood  up,  opened  its  large 
wings,  and  fluttered  along  the  beach.  Distracted  be- 
tween the  bird  and  the  fugitive  clothing,  I  let  the 
latter  go,  and  gave  chase  to  the  bird,  after  securing 
which,  and  holding  it  kicking  under  my  arm,  I  pur- 
sued my  habiliments,  now  some  distance  apart,  into 
the  water,  and  at  length  got  back  to  dry  land  with 
my  miscellaneous  load,  and  stood  on  the  beach  a  pic- 
ture of  an  antiquary  in  distress,  doubtless  illustrating 
the  proverb  to  the  Indian,  who  now  came  to  my  re- 
lief, if  he  had  ever  met  with  it  in  the  course  of  his 
reading,  that  no  man  can  be  a  hero  to  his  valet  de 
chambre.  In  honour  of  the  event  I  determined  to 
make  an  essay  in  dissection,  and  to  carry  the  bird 
home  with  me  as  a  memorial  of  this  place. 

By  this  time  Doctor  Cabot  joined  me,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  return.  We  had  procured  but  one  bird 
each,  and  had  been  disappointed  of  the  grand  specta- 
cle of  clouds  of  beautiful  plumage,  but  the  account  of 

Vol.  II.— H  h  h 


426 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


our  host  was  no  doubt  true  to  the  letter,  for  the  sea- 
son was  late,  and  the  brilliant  birds  we  were  seek- 
ing had  wended  their  way  north  ;  but  even  of  these, 
with  the  knowledge  we  had  acquired  of  locahties, 
two  canoes,  and  good  setters,  in  another  day  we 
could  have  procured  any  number  we  wanted.  For 
mere  sporting,  such  a  ground  is  not  often  seen,  and 
the  idea  of  a  shooting  lodge,  or  rather  hut,  on  the 
shores  of  Punta  de  Arenas  for  a  few  months  in  the 
season,  with  a  party  large  enough  to  consume  the 
game,  presented  itself  almost  as  attractively  as  that 
of  exploring  ruined  cities.  On  our  return,  each  of 
us  made  a  single  shot,  from  which  we  picked  up  be- 
tween thirty  and  forty  birds,  leaving  others  crippled 
and  hopping  on  the  beach.  We  got  back  to  the  hut, 
and  tumbled  them  all  into  a  dry  pot  (the  feathers 
being,  of  course,  taken  off),  and  sat  down  ourselves 
to  the  business  of  dissection.  With  a  finishing 
touch  from  Doctor  Cabot,  I  prepared  a  miserable 
specimen  of  a  beautiful  bird,  looking  upon  it,  never- 
theless, with  great  satisfaction  as  the  memorial  of 
a  remarkable  place  and  an  interesting  adventure. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  birds  on  the  fire  were  getting 
on  sw^immingly,  in  a  literal  sense,  giving  decided 
evidence  touching  the  richness  of  their  feeding- 
grounds.  We  had  only  tortillas  as  an  accompani- 
ment, but  neither  we  nor  the  birds  had  any  reason 
to  complain. 

At  four  o'clock  we  took  leave  of  our  young  host, 
and  at  dark  reached  the  port^  and  rode  across  the 


A  CATASTROPHE. 


427 


sandy  plaza.  The  door  which  had  opened  to  us 
with  so  much  alacrity  was  now  shut,  but  not  by  the 
hand  of  inhospitahty.  Mr.  Catherwood  and  the 
owner  had  left  for  the  village,  and  the  house  was 
locked  up.  Some  of  the  villagers,  however,  came 
to  us,  and  conducted  us  to  the  quartel,  which  was 
garrisoned  by  two  women,  who  surrendered  at  dis- 
cretion, provided  us  with  chocolate,  and,  although 
the  hut  was  abundantly  large  for  all  of  us,  unexpect- 
edly bade  us  good-night,  and  withdrew  to  a  neigh- 
bour's to  sleep.  If  they  had  remained,  not  being 
worn  down  by  fatigue  as  we  were,  and,  consequent- 
ly, more  wakeful,  a  sad  catastrophe  might  have 
been  prevented.  We  laid  our  birds  carefully  on  a 
table  to  dry ;  during  the  night  a  cat  entered,  and  we 
were  awaked  to  see  the  fruits  of  our  hard  day's  la- 
bour dragged  along  the  floor,  and  the  cat  bounding 
from  them,  and  escaping  through  a  hole  in  the  side 
of  the  hut.  It  was  no  consolation  to  us,  but  if  she 
had  nine  hves,  the  arsenic  used  for  preserving  the 
birds  had  probably  taken  them  all. 

Before  daylight  the  next  morning  we  were  again 
in  the  saddle.  For  some  distance  back  from  the  port 
the  ground  had  been  washed  or  overflowed  by  the 
sea,  and  was  a  sandy,  barren  mangrove  brake.  Be- 
yond commenced  the  same  broken,  stony  surface, 
and  before  we  had  proceeded  far  we  discovered  that 
Doctor  Cabot's  horse  was  lame.  Not  to  lose  time, 
I  rode  on  to  procure  another,  and  at  eight  o'clock 
reached  the  village  of  Silan.    In  the  suburbs  I  dis- 


428 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


covered  unexpectedly  the  towering  memorial  of 
another  ruined  city,  and  riding  into  the  plaza, 
saw  at  one  angle,  near  the  wall  of  the  church,  the 
gigantic  mound  represented  in  the  plate  opposite, 
the  grandest  we  had  seen  in  the  country.  Much 
as  we  had  seen  of  ruins,  the  unexpected  sight  of 
this  added  immensely  to  the  interest  of  our  long 
journeying  among  the  remains  of  aboriginal  gran- 
deur. Leaving  my  horse  at  the  casa  real,  and 
directing  the  alcalde  to  see  about  getting  one  for 
Doctor  Cabot,  I  walked  over  to  the  mound.  At 
the  base,  and  inside  of  the  wall  of  the  church,  were 
five  large  orange  trees,  loaded  with  fruit.  A  group 
of  Indians  were  engaged  in  getting  stone  out  of  the 
mound  to  repair  the  wall,  and  a  young  man  was  su- 
perintending them,  whom  I  immediately  recognised 
as  the  padre.  He  accompanied  me  to  the  top  of 
the  mound  ;  it  was  one  of  the  largest  we  had  seen, 
being  about  fifty  feet  high  and  four  hundred  feet  long. 
There  was  no  building  or  structure  of  any  kind  vis- 
ible ;  whatever  had  been  upon  it  had  fallen  or  been 
pulled  down.  The  church,  the  wall  of  the  yard, 
and  the  few  stone  houses  in  the  village,  had  been 
built  of  materials  taken  from  it. 

In  walking  along  the  top  we  reached  a  hole, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  I  discovered  the  broken 
arch  of  a  ceiling,  and  looked  through  it  into  an 
apartment  below.  This  explained  the  character  of 
the  structure.  A  building  had  extended  the  whole 
length  of  the  mound,  the  upper  part  of  which  had 


i 


RUINS    OF  SILAN. 


429 


fallen,  and  the  ruins  had  made  the  whole  a  long,  con- 
fused, and  undistinguishable  mass.  The  top  com- 
manded an  extensive  view  of  a  great  wooded  plain, 
and  near  bj,  rising  above  the  trees,  was  another 
mound,  which,  within  a  few  years,  had  been  crown- 
ed with  an  edifice,  called,  as  at  Chichen  and  Tuloom, 
El  Castillo.  The  padre,  a  young  man,  but  little  over 
thirty,  remembered  when  this  Castillo  stood  with  its 
doorways  open,  pillars  in  them,  and  corridors  around. 
The  sight  of  these  ruins  was  entirely  unexpected ; 
if  they  had  been  all  we  had  met  with  in  the  country, 
we  should  have  gazed  upon  them  with  perplexity  and 
wonder;  and  they  possessed  unusual  interest  from  the 
fact  that  they  existed  in  a  place,  the  name  of  which 
was  known  and  familiar  to  us  as  that  of  an  exist- 
ing aboriginal  town  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 

In  tracing  the  disorderly  flight  of  the  Spaniards 
from  Chichen  Itza,  we  find  them  first  at  Silan,  which 
is  described  by  Herrera  as  being  "  Then  a  fine  Town, 
the  Lord  whereof  was  a  Youth  of  the  Race  of  the 
Cheles,  then  a  Christian,  and  great  Friend  to  Cap- 
tain Francis  de  Montejo,  who  received  and  enter- 
tained them.  Tirrok  was  near  Silan ;  that  and  the 
other  Towns  along  the  Coast  were  subject  to  the 
Cheles,  who,  having  been  no  way  disobhged  by  the 
Spaniards,  did  not  disturb  them,  and  so  they  con- 
tinued some  Months,  when,  seeing  no  Possibility  of 
being  supplied  with  Men  and  other  Things  they 
wanted,  they  resolved  quite  to  abandon  that  Coun- 
try.   In  order  to  it,  they  were  to  march  to  Cam- 


430 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


peachy,  forty  Leagues  from  Silan,  which  was  looked 
upon  as  very  dangerous,  because  the  Country  was 
very  populous ;  but  the  Lord  of  Silan  and  others 
bearing  them  Company,  they  arrived  in  Safety,  and 
the  Cheles  returned  to  their  own  Homes."  Cogol- 
ludo,  too,  traces  the  routed  Spaniards  to  Silan,  but 
thence,  with  more  probability,  he  carries  them  by 
sea  to  Campeachy  ;  for,  as  he  well  suggests,  the  lords 
of  Silan  would  not  have  been  able  to  give  them  safe 
escort  through  forty  leagues  of  territory  inhabited 
by  different  tribes,  all  hostile  to  the  Spaniards,  and 
some  of  them  hostile  to  the  Cheles  themselves.  This 
difference,  however,  is  unimportant;  both  accounts 
prove  that  there  was  a  large  town  of  aboriginal  in- 
habitants in  this  vicinity,  and,  as  at  Ticul  and  Noh- 
cacab,  we  must  either  suppose  that  these  great 
mounds  are  the  remains  of  the  aboriginal  town,  or 
we  must  believe  that  another  town  of  the  same  name 
existed  in  this  immediate  neighbourhood,  of  which 
no  trace  whatever  now  remains. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  we  left  the  port 
before  daylight.  As  I  stood  on  the  top  of  the  mound, 
all  that  I  needed  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  my  satis- 
faction was  the  certainty  of  a  breakfast.  The  pa- 
dre seemed  to  divine  my  thoughts ;  he  relieved  me 
from  all  urieasiness,  and  enabled  me  to  contemplate 
with  a  tranquil  mind  the  sublimity  of  these  remains 
of  a  fallen  people.  When  Doctor  Cabot  arrived  he 
found  a  table  that  surprised  him. 

Silan  was  known  to  us  as  the  scene  of  a  modern 


THE    GRAVE    OF  LAFITTE. 


431 


and  minor  event.  Our  ambiguous  friend  on  the  isl- 
and of  Mugeres  had  told  us  that  at  this  place  Lafitte 
died  and  was  buried,  and  I  inquired  for  his  grave. 
The  padre  was  not  in  the  village  at  the  time,  and 
did  not  know  whether  he  was  buried  in  the  campo 
santo  or  the  church,  but  supposed  that,  as  Lafitte 
was  a  distinguished  man,  it  was  in  the  latter.  We 
went  thither,  and  examined  the  graves  in  the  floor, 
and  the  padre  drew  out  from  amid  some  rubbish  a 
cross,  with  a  name  on  it,  which  he  supposed  to  be 
that  of  Lafitte,  but  it  was  not.  The  sexton  who  of- 
ficiated at  the  burial  was  dead ;  the  padre  sent  for 
several  of  the  inhabitants,  but  a  cloud  hung  over  the 
memory  of  the  pirate :  all  knew  of  his  death  and 
burial,  but  none  knew  or  cared  to  tell  where  he  was 
laid.  We  had  heard,  also,  that  his  widow  was  liv- 
ing in  the  place,  but  this  was  not  true.  There  was, 
however,  a  negress  who  had  been  a  servant  to  the 
latter,  and  who,  we  were  told,  spoke  English ;  the 
cura  sent  for  her,  but  she  was  so  intoxicated  that  she 
could  not  make  her  appearance. 

The  last  of  the  padre's  good  offices  was  procuring 
a  horse  for  Doctor  Cabot,  which  the  alcalde  had 
not  been  able  to  do.  It  was  the  last  time  we  were 
thrown  upon  the  hospitality  of  a  padre,  and  in  ta- 
king leave  of  him,  I  do  repent  me  that  in  my  con- 
fidential intercourse  with  the  reader  I  have  at  times 
let  fall  what  I  might  better  have  kept  to  myself 

At  ten  o'clock  we  set  out,  and  at  half  past  twelve 
reached  Temax,  two  and  a  half  leagues  distant.  It 


432 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


had  a  fine  plaza,  with  a  great  church  and  convent, 
and  a  stone  casa  real,  with  a  broad  corridor  in  front, 
under  which  the  guarda  were  swinging  in  hammocks. 

We  were  but  six  leagues  from  Izamal,  at  which 
place,  we  learned,  a  fiesta  was  then  going  on,  and 
there  was  to  be  a  ball  in  the  evening ;  but  we  could 
neither  push  our  horses  through,  nor  procure  a  ca- 
lesa,  though  the  road  was  good  for  wheel  carriages. 

Early  in  the  evening  we  took  to  our  hammocks, 
but  had  hardly  lain  down,  when  one  of  the  guarda 
came  to  inform  us  that  a  caricoche  had  just  arrived 
from  Izamal,  and  wanted  a  return  freight.  We  had 
it  brought  down  to  the  casa  real,  and  at  two  o'clock, 
by  a  bright  moonlight,  we  started,  leaving  Dimas  to 
follow  with  the  horses.  The  caricoche  was  drawn 
by  three  mules,  and  had  in  it  a  bed,  on  which  we 
reclined  at  full  length. 

At  nine  o'clock  we  entered  the  suburbs  of  Iza- 
mal, but  fifteen  leagues  from  Merida.  The  streets 
had  lamps,  and  were  designated  by  visible  objects, 
as  at  Merida.  Peeping  through  the  curtain,  we  rode 
into  the  plaza,  which  was  alive  with  people,  dressed 
in  clean  clothes  for  the  fiesta.  There  was  an  un- 
usual proportion  of  gentlemen  with  black  hats  and 
canes,  and  some  with  military  coats,  bright  and  flash- 
ing to  such  a  degree  that  we  congratulated  ourselves 
upon  not  having  made  our  entry  on  horseback.  We 
had  on  our  shooting-clothes,  with  the  mud  stains 
from  Punta  Arenas,  and  by  computation  our  beards 
were  of  twenty-eight  days'  growth.    In  the  centre 


IZAMAL. 


433 


of  the  plaza  our  driver  stopped  for  instructions.  We 
directed  him  to  the  casa  real,  and  as  we  were  mov- 
ing on,  our  English  saddles,  strapped  on  behind, 
caught  the  eye  of  Albino,  who  conducted  us  to  the 
house  in  which  Mr.  Catherwood  was  already  domi- 
ciled. This  house  was  a  short  distance  from  the 
plaza,  built  of  stone,  and  about  sixty  feet  front,  di- 
vided into  two  large  salas,  with  rooms  adjoining,  a 
broad  corridor  behind,  and  a  large  yard  for  horses, 
for  all  which  the  rent  was  three  reales  per  day,  be- 
ing, as  we  were  advised,  but  two  more  than  anybody 
else  would  have  been  obliged  to  pay.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments we  had  done  all  that  our  scanty  wardrobe 
would  allow,  and  were  again  in  the  street. 

It  was  the  last  day  of  the  fiesta  of  Santa  Cruz. 
By  the  grace  of  a  beneficent  government,  the  vil- 
lage of  Izamal  had  been  erected  into  a  city,  and  the 
jubilee  on  account  of  this  accession  of  political  dig- 
nity was  added  to  the  festival  of  the  holy  cross. 
The  bull-fights  were  over,  but  the  bull-ring,  fanci- 
fully ornamented,  still  remained  in  the  centre  of  the 
plaza,  and  two  bulls  stood  under  one  of  the  corri- 
dors, pierced  with  wounds  and  streaming  with  blood, 
as  memorials  of  the  fight.  Amid  a  crowd  of  Indians 
were  parties  of  vecinos,  or  white  people,  gay  and 
well  dressed  in  the  style  and  costume  of  the  capital, 
and  under  the  corridor  of  a  corner  house,  with  an 
arbour  projecting  into  the  plaza,  music  was  sound- 
ing to  summon  the  people  to  a  ball.  From  desola- 
tion and  solitude  we  had  come  into  the  midst  of 

Vol.  II.— I  II  37 


434 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


gayeties,  festivities,  and  rejoicings.  But  amid  this 
gay  scene  the  eye  turned  involuntarily  to  immense 
mounds  rising  grandly  above  the  tops  of  the  houses, 
from  which  the  whole  city  had  been  built,  without 
seeming  to  diminish  their  colossal  proportions,  pro- 
claiming the  power  of  those  who  reared  them,  and 
destined,  apparently,  to  stand,  when  the  feebler  struc- 
tures of  their  more  civiUzed  conquerors  shall  have 
crumbled  into  dust. 

One  of  these  great  mounds,  having  at  that  time 
benches  upon  it,  commanding  a  view  of  the  bull- 
fight in  the  plaza,  blocked  up  the  yard  of  the  house 
we  occupied,  and  extended  into  the  adjoining  yard 
of  the  Sehora  Mendez,  who  was  the  owner  of 
both.  It  is,  perhaps,  two  hundred  feet  long  and  thir- 
ty high.  The  part  in  our  yard  was  entirely  ruined, 
but  in  that  of  the  senora  it  appeared  that  its  vast 
sides  had  been  covered  from  one  end  to  the  other 
with  colossal  ornaments  in  stucco,  most  of  which 
had  fallen,  but  among  the  fragments  is  the  gigantic 
head  represented  in  the  plate  opposite.  It  is  seven 
feet  eight  inches  in  height  and  seven  feet  in  width. 
The  ground-work  is  of  projecting  stones,  which  are 
covered  with  stucco.  A  stone  one  foot  six  inches 
long  protrudes  from  the  chin,  intended,  perhaps,  for 
burning  copal  on,  as  a  sort  of  altar.  It  was  the  first 
time  we  had  seen  an  ornament  of  this  kind  upon 
the  exterior  of  any  of  these  structures.  In  sternness 
and  harshness  of  expression  it  reminded  us  of  the 
idols  at  Copan,  and  its  colossal  proportions,  with  the 


Page,  434  Vol.  2. 


CHURCH    AND  CONVENT. 


435 


corresponding  dimensions  of  the  mound,  gave  an 
unusual  impression  of  grandeur. 

Two  or  three  streets  distant  from  the  plaza,  but 
visible  in  all  its  huge  proportions,  wrs  the  most  stu- 
pendous mound  we  had  seen  in  the  country,  being, 
perhaps,  six  or  seven  hundred  feet  long  and  sixty 
feet  high,  which,  we  ascertained  beyond  all  doubt, 
had  interior  chambers. 

Turning  from  these  memorials  of  former  power 
to  the  degraded  race  that  now  lingers  round  them, 
the  stranger  might  run  wild  with  speculation  and 
conjecture,  but  on  the  north  side  of  the  plaza  is  a 
monument  that  recalls  his  roving  thoughts,  and  holds 
up  to  his  gaze  a  leaf  in  history.  It  is  the  great 
church  and  convent  of  Franciscan  monks,  standing 
on  an  elevation,  and  giving  a  character  to  the  plaza 
that  no  other  in  Yucatan  possesses.  Two  flights 
of  stone  steps  lead  up  to  it,  and  the  area  upon  which 
they  open  is  probably  two  hundred  feet  square ;  on 
three  sides  is  a  colonnade,  forming  a  noble  promen- 
ade, overlooking  the  city  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try to  a  great  distance.  This  great  elevation  was  ev- 
idently artificial,  and  not  the  work  of  the  Spaniards. 

At  the  earliest  period  of  the  conquest  we  have 
accounts  of  the  large  aboriginal  town  of  Iza- 
mal,  and,  fortunately,  in  the  pious  care  of  the  early 
monks  to  record  the  erection  of  their  church  and 
convent,  the  only  memorials  which,  to  the  exclusive 
and  absorbing  spirit  of  the  times,  seemed  worth  pre- 
serving, we  have  authentic  records  which  incident- 


436 


INCIDENTS     OF  TRAVEL. 


ally  dispel  all  uncertainty  respecting  the  origin  of 
these  ancient  mounds. 

According  to  the  account  of  the  padre  Lizana, 
in  the  year  1553,  at  the  second  chapter  held  in  the 
province,  the  padre  Fr.  Diego  de  Landa  was  elected 
guardian  of  the  convent  of  Izamal,  and  charged  to 
erect  the  building,  the  monks  having  lived  until  that 
time  in  houses  of  straw.  He  selected  as  the  place 
for  the  foimdation  one  of  the  cerros,  or  mounds,  which 
then  existed,  "  made  by  hand,"  and  called  by  the  na- 
tives Phapphol-chac,  which,  says  the  padre  Liza- 
na, "signifies  the  habitation  or  residence  of  the  priests 
of  the  gods ;  this  place  was  selected  in  order  that 
the  devil  might  be  driven  away  by  the  divine  pres- 
ence of  Christ  sacrificed,  and  that  the  place  in  which 
the  priests  of  the  idol  lived,  and  which  had  been  the 
place  of  abomination  and  idolatry,  might  become  that 
of  sanctification,  w^here  the  ministers  of  the* true  God 
should  offer  sacrifices  and  adoration  due  to  his  Di- 
vine Majesty." 

This  is  clear  and  unmistakeable  testimony  as  to 
the  original  use  and  occupation  of  the  mound  on 
which  the  church  and  convent  of  Izamal  now  stand; 
and  the  same  account  goes  on  farther,  and  says : 
"  At  another  mound,  on  which  was  the  idol  called 
Kinick  Kakmo,  he  founded  a  village  or  settlement, 
calling  it  San  Ildefonzo,  and  to  the  other  cerro, 
called  Humpictok,  where  falls  the  village  of  Izamal, 
he  gave  for  patron  San  Antonio  de  Padua,  demol- 
ishing the  temple  which  was  there  ;  and  where  was 


A  LEGEND. 


437 


the  idol  called  Haboc  he  founded  a  village  called 
Santa  Maria,  by  which  means  he  sought  to  sweep 
away  the  memory  of  so  great  idolatry." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  upon  these  ac- 
courts.  Testimony,  never  intended  for  that  pur- 
pose, proves,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that 
these  great  mounds  had  upon  them  temples  and 
idols,  and  the  habitations  of  priests,  in  the  actual 
use  of  the  Indians  who  were  found  occupying  the 
country  at  the  time  of  the  conquest;  and,  in  my 
opinion,  if  it  stood  alone,  unsupported  by  any  other, 
it  is  sufficient  to  dispel  every  cloud  of  mystery  that 
hangs  over  the  ruins  of  Yucatan. 

At  the  present  day  Izamal  is  distinguished 
throughout  Yucatan  for  its  fair,  but  it  has  a  stronger 
hold  upon  the  feelings  of  the  Indians  in  the  sancti- 
ty of  its  Virgin.  From  the  history  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  monks,  it  appears  that  the  Indians  con- 
tinued to  worship  El  Demonio,  and  the  venerable 
padre  Landa,  after  severe  wrestling  with  the  great 
enemy,  proposed  to  procure  an  image  of  the  holy 
Virgin,  offering  to  go  for  it  himself  to  Guatimala,  in 
which  city  there  was  a  skilful  sculptor.  At  the 
same  time,  another  was  wanted  for  the  convent  at 
Merida.  The  two  images  were  brought  in  a  box, 
and  though  there  was  much  rain  on  the  way,  it  nev- 
er fell  on  the  box,  or  on  the  Indians  who  carried  it, 
or  within  some  steps  of  them.  At  Merida  the 
monks  selected  for  their  convent  the  one  which  had 
the  most  beautiful  countenance  and  seemed  most 


438  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

devout ;  the  other,  though  brought  by  the  Indians 
of  Izamal,  and  intended  for  that  place,  the  Span- 
iards of  Valladohd  claimed,  and  said  that  it  ought 
not  to  remain  in  a  village  of  Indians.  The  Indians 
of  Izamal  resisted,  the  Spaniards  attempted  to 
carry  their  purpose  into  execution,  and  when  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  village,  the  image  became  so 
heavy  that  the  bearers  could  not  carry  it.  Divine 
Majesty  interposed  on  behalf  of  the  Indians  of  Iza- 
mal, and  there  was  not  sufficient  human  force  to  re- 
move the  statue.  The  devotion  of  the  faithful  in- 
creased at  the  sight  of  these  marvels,  and  in  all  parts, 
by  land  and  sea,  by  means  of  invocation  to  this  Vir- 
gin, innumerable  miracles  have  been  wrought,  of 
which,  says  Cogolludo,  a  volume  might  have  been 
written,  if  proper  care  had  been  taken. 

But,  alas !  though  this  Virgin  could  save  others, 
herself  she  could  not  save.  On  the  left  of  the  door 
of  the  church  is  a  square  stone  set  in  the  wall, 
with  an  inscription,  which  tells  the  mournful  tale, 
that  in  the  great  burning  of  the  church  the  Santa 
Virgen  was  entirely  consumed  ;  but  the  hearts  of 
the  faithful  are  cheered  by  the  assurance  that  one  as 
good  as  she  has  been  put  in  her  place. 

After  our  visit  to  the  church  we  returned  to  the 
corridor  overlooking  the  plaza.  A  young  girl  whom 
I  had  noticed  all  day  sitting  in  one  of  the  corridors 
was  still  there,  looking  down  upon  the  gay  scene  in 
the  plaza,  but  apparently  abstracted,  pensive,  per- 
haps looking  in  vain  for  one  who  did  not  appear. 


A  BALL. 


439 


In  the  evening  we  went  to  the  ball,  which  was 
held  in,  or  rather  out  of,  a  house  on  the  corner  of 
the  plaza.  The  sala  was  opened  as  a  refreshment 
room.  In  the  corridor  was  a  row  of  seats  for  those 
who  did  not  take  part  in  the  dance,  and  in  front 
was  an  arbour  projecting  into  the  plaza,  with  a  ce- 
mented floor  for  the  dancers.  The  ball  had  begun 
at  eight  o'clock  the  evening  before,  and,  with  an  in- 
termission of  a  few  hours  toward  daylight,  had  been 
continued  ever  since  ;  but  it  was  manifest  that  there 
were  hmits  to  the  capabilities  of  human  nature  even 
in  dancing.  The  room  was  already  less  crowded 
than  it  had  been  during  the  day.  Two  officers  of 
the  army  (militia),  who  had  been  toihng  all  day 
with  a  determination  that  promised  well  for  Yuca- 
tan under  the  threatened  invasion  of  Mexico,  had 
danced  off  their  military  coats,  but  still  kept  the  floor 
in  light  jackets.  One  placed  a  chair  for  his  droop- 
ing partner  during  the  intervals  of  the  dance.  An- 
other followed  his  example,  and  by  degrees  every 
lady  had  her  seat  of  rehef.  At  the  last  call  only 
four  couples  appeared  on  the  floor.  Ladies,  fiddlers, 
and  lights  were  all  wearing  out  together,  and  we 
went  away.  Before  we  were  in  our  hammocks  a 
loud  burst  of  music,  as  it  were  a  last  effort  of  expi- 
ring nature,  broke  up  the  ball. 


440 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Departure  for  Merida.  —  The  Road.— Cacalchen. — Hacienda  of 
Ake. — The  Ruins. — Great  Mound  called  the  Palace. — Immense 
Staircase. — Grand  Approach.  —  Columns. — No  Remains  of  a 
Building  on  the  Mound. — Other  Mounds. — Interior  Chamber. — 
A  Senote. — Rude  and  Massive  Character  of  these  Ruins. — End 
of  Journey  among  ruined  Cities. — Number  of  Cities  discovered. 
— Of  the  Builders  of  the  American  Cities. — Opinion. — Built  by 
the  Ancestors  of  the  present  Race  of  Indians. — Reply  to  Argu- 
ments urged  against  this  Belief. — Absence  of  Tradition. — Un- 
paralleled Circumstances  vi^hich  attended  the  Conquest.  —  Un- 
scrupulous Policy  of  the  Spaniards. — Want  of  Tradition  not 
confined  to  Events  before  the  Conquest. — Nor  peculiar  to  Amer- 
ican Ruins.  —  Degeneracy  of  the  Indians. —  Insufficiency  of 
these  Arguments. — Farewell  to  Ruins. 

The  next  morning  we  started  for  Merida,  with  the 
intention  of  diverging  for  the  last  time  to  visit  the 
ruins  of  Ake.  The  road  was  one  of  the  best  in  the 
country,  made  for  carriages,  but  rough,  stony,  and 
uninteresting.  At  Cacalchen,  five  leagues  distant, 
we  stopped  to  dine  and  procure  a  guide  to  Ake. 

In  the  afternoon  we  proceeded,  taking  with  us 
only  our  hammocks,  and  leaving  Dimas  to  go  on  di- 
rect with  the  luggage  to  Merida.  Turning  off  imme- 
diately from  the  main  road,  we  entered  the  woods, 
and  following  a  narrow  path,  a  little  before  dark  we 
reached  the  hacienda  of  Ake,  and  for  the  last  time 
were  among  the  towering  and  colossal  memorials 
of  an  aboriginal  city.    The  hacienda  was  the  prop- 


RUINS    OF  AKE. 


441 


erty  of  the  Conde  Peon,  and,  contrary  to  our  expec- 
tations, it  was  small,  neglected,  in  a  ruinous  condi- 
tion, and  entirely  destitute  of  all  kinds  of  supplies. 
We  could  not  procure  even  eggs,  literally  nothing 
but  tortillas.  The  major  domo  was  away,  the  prin- 
cipal building  locked  up,  and  the  only  shelter  we 
could  obtain  was  a  miserable  little  hut,  full  of  fleas, 
which  no  sweeping  could  clear  out.  We  had  con- 
sidered all  our  rough  work  over,  but  again,  and  with- 
in a  day's  journey  of  Merida,  we  were  in  bad  straits. 
By  great  ingenuity,  and  giving  them  the  shortest  pos- 
sible tie.  Albino  contrived  to  swing  our  hammocks, 
and  having  no  other  resource,  early  in  the  evening 
we  fell  into  them.  At  about  ten  o'clock  we  heard 
the  tramp  of  a  horse,  and  the  major  domo  arrived. 
Surprised  to  find  such  unexpected  visiters,  but  glad 
to  see  them,  he  unlocked  the  hacienda,  and  walking 
out  in  our  winding  sheets,  we  took  possession ;  our 
hammocks  followed,  and  were  hung  up  anew.  In 
the  morning  he  provided  us  with  breakfast,  after 
which,  accompanied  by  him  and  all  the  Indians  of 
the  hacienda,  being  only  six,  we  went  round  to  see 
the  ruins. 

The  plate  opposite  represents  a  great  mound  tow- 
ering in  full  sight  from  the  door  of  the  hacienda,  and 
called  El  Palacio,  or  the  Palace.  Th^  ascent  is  on 
the  south  side,  by  an  immense  staircase,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  feet  wide,  forming  an  approach 
of  rude  grandeur,  perhaps  equal  to  any  that  ever  ex- 
isted in  the  country.    Each  step  is  four  feet  five 

Vol.  II.— K  k  k 


442 


INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL. 


inches  long,  and  one  foot  five  inches  in  height.  The 
platform  on  the  top  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  in  length,  and  fifty  in  breadth.  On  this  great 
platform  stand  thirty-six  shafts,  or  columns,  in  three 
parallel  rows  of  twelve,  about  ten  feet  apart  from 
north  to  south,  and  fifteen  from  east  to  w^est.  They 
are  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  feet  in  height,  four  feet 
on  each  side,  and  are  composed  of  separate  stones, 
from  one  to  two  feet  in  thickness.  But  few  have 
fallen,  though  some  have  lost  their  upper  layer  of 
stones.  There  are  no  remains  of  any  structure  or 
of  a  roof.  If  there  ever  was  one,  it  must  have  been 
of  wood,  which  would  seem  most  incongruous  and 
inappropriate  for  such  a  solid  structure  of  stones. 
The  whole  mound  w^as  so  overgrown  that  we  could 
not  ascertain  the  juxtaposition  of  the  pillars  till  the 
growth  was  cleared  away,  when  we  made  out  the 
whole,  but  with  little  or  no  enlargement  of  our 
knowledge  as  to  its  uses  and  purposes.  It  w^as  a 
new  and  extraordinary  feature,  entirely  different  from 
any  we  had  seen,  and  at  the  very  end  of  our  jour- 
ney, when  we  supposed  ourselves  familiar  with  the 
character  of  American  ruins,  threw  over  them  a  new 
air  of  mystery. 

In  the  same  vicinity  are  other  mounds  of  colossal 
dimensions,  one  of  which  is  also  called  the  Palace, 
but  of  a  different  construction  and  without  pillars. 
On  another,  at  the  head  of  the  ruined  staircase,  is  an 
opening  under  the  top  of  a  doorway,  nearly  filled  up, 
crawling  through  which,  by  means  of  the  crotch  of 


MASSIVE  CHARACTER  OF  THESE   RUINS.  443 

a  ti*ee  I  descended  into  a  dark  chamber  fifteen  feet 
long  and  ten  wide,  of  rude  construction,  and  of  which 
some  of  the  stones  in  the  wall  measured  seven  feet 
in  length.  This  is  called  Akabna,  casa  obscura,  or 
dark  house.  Near  this  is  a  senote,  with  the  remains 
of  Steps  leading  down  to  water,  which  once  supplied 
the  ancient  city.  The  ruins  cover  a  great  extent, 
but  all  were  overgrown,  and  in  a  condition  too  ruin- 
ous to  be  presented  in  a  drawing.  They  were  ru- 
der and  more  massive  than  all  the  others  we  had 
seen,  bore  the  stamp  of  an  older  era,  and  more  than 
any  others,  in  fact,  for  the  first  time  in  the  country, 
suggested  the  idea  of  Cyclopean  remains ;  but  even 
here  we  have  a  gleam  of  historic  light,  faint,  it  is 
true,  but,  in  my  mind,  sufficient  to  dispel  all  unsettled 
and  wavering  notions. 

In  the  account  of  the  march  of  Don  Francisco 
Montejo  from  the  coast,  presented  in  the  early  part 
of  these  pages,  it  is  mentioned  that  the  Spaniards 
reached  a  town  called  Ake,  at  which  they  found 
themselves  confronted  by  a  great  multitude  of  armed 
Indians.  A  desperate  battle  ensued,  which  lasted 
two  days,  and  in  which  the  Spaniards  were  victo- 
rious, but  gained  no  easy  triumph. 

There  is  no  other  mention  of  Ake,  and  in  this 
there  is  no  allusion  whatever  to  the  buildings,  but 
from  its  geographical  position,  and  the  direction  of 
the  line  of  march  of  the  Spanish  army  from  the  coast, 
I  have  little  doubt  that  their  Ake  was  the  place  now 
known  by  the  same  name,  and  occupied  by  the  ruins 


444  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

last  presented.  It  is,  indeed,  strange  that  no  mention 
is  made  of  the  buildings,  but  regard  must  be  had  to 
the  circumstances  of  danger  and  death  which  sur- 
rounded the  Spaniards,  and  which  were  doubtless  al- 
ways uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  who 
formed  that  disastrous  expedition.  At  all  events,  it 
is  not  more  strange  than  the  want  of  any  description 
of  the  great  buildings  of  Chichen,  and  we  have  the 
strongest  possible  proof  that  no  correct  inference  is 
to  be  drawn  from  the  silence  of  the  Spaniards,  for 
in  the  comparatively  minute  account  of  the  conquest 
of  Mexico,  we  find  that  the  Spanish  army  marched 
under  the  very  shadow  of  the  great  pyramids  of 
Otumba,  and  yet  not  the  slightest  mention  whatever 
is  made  of  their  existence. 

I  have  now  finished  my  journey  among  ruined 
cities.  I  know  that  it  is  impossible  by  any  narra- 
tive to  convey  to  the  reader  a  true  idea  of  the  pow- 
erful and  exciting  interest  of  wandering  among  them, 
and  I  have  avoided  as  much  as  possible  all  detailed 
descriptions,  but  I  trust  that  these  pages  will  serve  to 
give  some  general  idea  of  the  appearance  which  this 
country  once  presented.  In  our  long,  irregular,  and 
devious  route  we  have  discovered  the  crumbling  re- 
mains of  fortv-four  ancient  cities,  most  of  them  but 
a  short  distance  apart,  though,  from  the  great  change 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  country,  and  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  old  roads,  having  no  direct  communica- 
tion with  each  other ;  with  but  few  exceptions,  all 
were  lost,  buried,  and  unknown,  never  before  visited 


OF  THE   BUILDERS  OF  THESE   CITIES.  445 

by  a  stranger,  and  some  of  them,  perhaps,  never  look- 
ed upon  by  the  eyes  of  a  white  man.  Involuntarily 
we  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  frightful  scenes  of  which 
this  now  desolate  region  must  have  been  the  thea- 
tre ;  the  scenes  of  blood,  agony,  and  wo  which  pre- 
ceded the  desolation  or  abandonment  of  these  cities. 
But,  leaving  the  boundless  space  in  which  imagina- 
tion might  rove,  I  confine  myself  to  the  considera- 
tion of  facts.  If  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  so,  in 
the  whole  history  of  discoveries  there  is  nothing  to 
be  compared  with  those  here  presented.  They  give 
an  entirely  new  aspect  to  the  great  Continent  on 
which  we  live,  and  bring  up  with  more  force  than 
ever  the  great  question  which  I  once,  with  some  hes- 
itation, undertook  to  consider  :  Who  were  the  build- 
ers of  these  American  cities  1 

My  opinion  on  this  question  has  been  fully  and 
freely  expressed,  "  that  they  are  not  the  works  of 
people  who  have  passed  away,  and  whose  history 
is  lost,  but  of  the  same  races  who  inhabited  the  coun- 
try at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  or  of  some 
not  very  distant  progenitors."  Some  were  probably 
in  ruins,  but  in  general  I  believe  that  they  were  oc- 
cupied by  the  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  in- 
vasion. The  grounds  of  this  beUef  are  interspersed 
throughout  these  pages  ;  they  are  interwoven  with  so 
many  facts  and  circumstances  that  I  do  not  recapit- 
ulate them;  and  in  conclusion  I  shall  only  refer  brief- 
ly to  those  arguments  which  I  consider  the  strongest 
that  are  urged  against  this  belief. 

38 


446 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


The  first  is  the  entire  absence  of  all  traditions.  But 
I  would  ask,  may  not  this  be  accounted  for  by  the  un- 
paralleled circumstances  which  attended  the  conquest 
and  subjugation  of  Spanish  America  1  Every  cap- 
tain or  discoverer,  on  first  planting  the  royal  stand- 
ard on  the  shores  of  a  new  country,  made  proclama- 
tion according  to  a  form  drawn  up  by  the  most  em- 
inent divines  and  lawyers  in  Spain,  the  most  extra- 
ordinary that  ever  appeared  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind ;  entreating  and  requiring  the  inhabitants  to  ac- 
knowledge and  obey  the  church  as  the  superior  and 
guide  of  the  universe,  the  holy  father  called  the  pope, 
and  his  majesty  as  king  and  sovereign  lord  of  these 
islands,  and  of  the  terra  firma;  and  concluding, 
"  But  if  you  will  not  comply,  or  maliciously  delay 
to  obey  my  injunction,  then,  with  the  help  of  God, 
I  will  enter  your  country  by  force  ;  I  will  carry  on 
war  against  you  with  the  utmost  violence ;  I  will 
subject  you  to  the  yoke  of  obedience,  to  the  church 
and  king ;  I  will  take  your  wives  and  children,  and 
make  them  slaves,  and  sell  or  dispose  of  them  accord- 
ing to  his  majesty's  pleasure.  I  will  seize  your  goods, 
and  do  you  all  the  mischief  in  my  power,  as  rebel- 
lious subjects,  who  will  not  acknowledge  or  submit 
to  their  lawful  sovereign ;  and  I  protest  that  all  the 
bloodshed  and  calamities  which  shall  follow  are  to 
be  imputed  to  you,  and  not  to  his  majesty,  or  to  me, 
or  the  gentlemen  who  serve  under  me." 

The  conquest  and  subjugation  of  the  country  were 
carried  out  in  the  unscrupulous  spirit  of  this  procla- 


UNSCRUPULOUS  POLICY  OF    SPANIARDS.  447 

mation.  The  pages  of  the  historians  are  dyed  with 
blood ;  and  saiUng  on  the  crimson  stream,  with  a 
master  pilot  at  the  helm,  appears  the  leading,  stern, 
and  steady  policy  of  the  Spaniards,  surer  and  more 
fatal  than  the  sword,  to  subvert  all  the  institutions 
of  the  natives,  and  to  break  up  and  utterly  destroy 
all  the  rites,  customs,  and  associations  that  might 
keep  alive  the  memory  of  their  fathers  and  their  an- 
cient condition.  One  sad  instance  shows  the  effects 
of  this  policy.  Before  tMI  destruction  of  Mayapan, 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Maya,  all  the  nobles 
of  the  country  had  houses  in  that  city,  and  were  ex- 
empted from  tribute  ;  according  to  the  account  from 
which  Cogolludo  derives  his  authority,  in  the  year 
1582,  forty  years  after  the  conquest,  all  who  held 
themselves  for  lords  and  nobles  still  claimed  their 
solares  (sites  for  mansions)  as  tokens  of  their  rank ; 
but  now,  he  says,  "  from  the  change  of  government 
and  the  little  estimation  in  which  they  are  held,  it 
does  not  appear  that  they  care  to  preserve  nobility 
for  their  posterity,  for  at  this  day  the  descendants  of 
Tutul  Xiu,  who  was  the  king  and  natural  lord  by 
right  of  the  land  of  Maya,  if  they  do  not  work  with 
their  own  hands  in  manual  offices,  have  nothing  to 
eat."  And  if  at  that  early  date  nobles  no  longer 
cared  for  their  titles,  and  the  descendants  of  the 
royal  house  had  nothing  to  eat  but  what  they  earn- 
ed with  their  own  hands,  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
present  inhabitants,  nine  generations  removed,  with- 
out any  written  language,  borne  down  by  three  cen-  * 


448 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


turies  of  servitude,  and  toiling  daily  for  a  scanty  sub- 
sistence, are  alike  ignorant  and  indifferent  concerning 
the  history  of  their  ancestors,  and  the  great  cities  ly- 
ing in  ruins  under  their  eyes.  And  strange  or  not, 
no  argument  can  be  drawn  from  it,  for  this  ignorance 
is  not  confined  to  ruined  cities  or  to  events  before 
the  conquest.  It  is  my  belief,  that  among  the  w^hole 
mass  of  what  are  called  Christianized  Indians,  there 
is  not  at  this  day  one  solitary  tradition  which  can 
shed  a  ray  of  light  upon  an|^ event  in  their  history  that 
occurred  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  from  the  pres- 
ent time ;  in  fact,  I  believe  it  would  be  almost  im- 
possible to  procure  any  information  of  any  kind 
whatever  beyond  the  memory  of  the  oldest  living  In- 
dian. 

Besides,  the  w^ant  of  traditionary  knowledge  is  not 
peculiar  to  these  American  ruins.  Two  thousand 
years  ago  the  Pyramids  towered  on  the  borders  of 
the  African  Desert  without  any  certain  tradition  of . 
the  time  when  they  were  founded ;  and  so  long  back 
as  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  Pliny  cites 
various  older  authors  who  disagreed  concerning  the 
persons  who  built  them,  and  even  concerning  the 
use  and  object  for  which  they  were  erected.  No 
traditions  hang  round  the  ruins  of  Greece  and  Rome ; 
the  temples  of  Peestum,  lost  until  within  the  last  half 
century,  have  no  traditions  to  identify  their  build- 
ers ;  the  "  holy  city"  has  only  weak  inventions  of 
modern  monks.  But  for  written  records,  Egyptian, 
Grecian,  and  Roman  remains  would  be  as  myste- 


DEGENERACY    OF    THE    INDIANS.  449 

rious  as  the  ruins  of  America ;  and  to  come  down  to 
later  times  and  countries  comparatively  familiar,  tra- 
dition sheds  no  light  upon  the  round  towers  of  Ire- 
land, and  the  ruins  of  Stonehenge  stand  on  Salisbu- 
ry plain  without  a  tradition  to  carry  us  back  to  the 
age  or  nation  of  their  builders. 

The  second  argument  I  shall  notice  is,  that  a  peo- 
ple possessing  the  power,  art,  and  skill  to  erect  such 
cities,  never  could  have  fallen  so  low  as  the  misera- 
ble Indians  who  now  linger  about  their  ruins.  To 
this,  too,  it  might  be  sufficient  to  answer  that  their 
present  condition  is  the  natural  and  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  the  same  ruthless  policy  which  laid  the 
axe  at  the  root  of  all  ancient  recollections,  and  cut 
off  forever  all  traditionary  knowledge.  But  waiving 
this  ground,  the  pages  of  written  history  are  burden- 
ed with  changes  in  national  character  quite  equal  to 
that  here  exhibited.  And  again,  leaving  entirely  out 
of  the  question  all  the  analogous  examples  which 
might  be  drawn  from  those  pages,  we  have  close  at 
hand,  and  under  our  very  eyes,  an  illustration  in 
point.  The  Indians  who  inhabit  that  country  now 
are  not  more  changed  than  their  Spanish  masters.^ 
Whether  debased,  and  but  little  above  the  grade  of 
brutes,  as  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Spaniards  to  rep- 
resent them,  or  not,  we  know  that  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest  they  were  at  least  proud,  fierce,  and  war- 
like, and  poured  out  their  blood  like  water  to  save 
their  inheritance  from  the  grasp  of  strangers.  Crush- 
ed, humbled,  and  bowed  down  as  they  are  now  by 

Vol.  II. — L  l  l 


450 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


generations  of  bitter  servitude,  even  yet  they  are  not 
more  changed  than  the  descendants  of  those  terrible 
Spaniards  who  invaded  and  conquered  their  coun- 
try. In  both,  all  traces  of  the  daring  and  w^arlike 
character  of  their  ancestors  are  entirely  gone.  The 
change  is  radical,  in  feehngs  and  instincts,  inborn 
and  transmitted,  in  a  measure,  w^ith  the  blood ;  and  in 
contemplating  this  change  in  the  Indian,  the  loss  of 
mere  mechanical  skill  and  art  seems  comparatively 
nothing  ;  in  fact,  these  perish  of  themselves,  when,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Indians,  the  school  for  their  exer- 
cise is  entirely  broken  up.  Degraded  as  the  Indians 
are  now,  they  are  not  lower  in  the  scale  of  intellect 
than  the  serfs  of  Russia,  while  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  greatest  architect  in  that  country,  the 
builder  of  the  Cazan  Church  at  St.  Petersburgh, 
was  taken  from  that  abject  class,  and  by  education 
became  what  he  is.  In  my  opinion,  teaching  might 
again  lift  up  the  Indian,  might  impart  to  him  the 
skill  to  sculpture  stone  and  carve  wood ;  and  if  re- 
stored to  freedom,  and  the  unshackled  exercise  of 
his  powers  of  mind,  there  might  again  appear  a  ca- 
pacity to  originate  and  construct,  equal  to  that  ex- 
hibited in  the  ruined  monuments  of  his  ancestors. 

The  last  argument,  and  that  upon  which  most 
stress  has  been  laid,  against  the  hypothesis  that  the 
cities  were  constructed  by  the  ancestors  of  the  pres- 
ent Indians,  is  the  alleged  absence  of  historical  ac- 
counts in  regard  to  the  discovery  or  knowledge  of 
such  cities  by  the  conquerors.    But  it  is  manifest 


TESTIMONY    OF    THE    HISTORIANS.  451 

that  even  if  this  allegation  were  true,  the  argument 
would  be  unsound,  for  it  goes  to  deny  that  such  cit- 
ies ever  existed  at  all.  Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  as 
to  the  fact  of  their  existence  ;  and  as  it  is  never  pre- 
tended that  they  were  erected  since  the  conquest, 
they  must  be  allowed  to  have  been  standing  at  that 
time.  Whether  erected  by  the  Indians  or  by  races 
perished  and  unknown,  whether  desolate  or  inhabit- 
ed, beyond  all  question  the  great  buildings  were 
there ;  if  not  entire,  they  must  at  least  have  been 
far  more  so  than  they  are  now ;  if  desolate,  perhaps 
more  calculated  to  excite  wonder  than  if  inhabited  ; 
and  in  either  case  the  alleged  silence  of  the  histo- 
rian would  be  equally  inexplicable. 

But  the  allegation  is  untrue.  The  old  historians 
are  not  silent.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  the  glow- 
ing accounts  of  Cortez  and  his  companions,  of  sol- 
diers, priests,  and  civilians,  all  concurring  in  repre- 
sentations of  existing  cities,  then  in  the  actual  use 
and  occupation  of  the  Indians,  with  buildings  and 
temples,  in  style  and  character  like  those  presented 
in  these  pages.  Indeed,  these  accounts  are  so  glow- 
ing that  modern  historians,  at  the  head  of  whom 
stands  Robertson,  have  for  that  reason  thrown  dis- 
credit over  them,  and  ascribed  them  to  a  heated  im- 
agination. To  my  mind,  they  bear  on  the  face  of 
them  the  stamp  of  truth,  and  it  seems  strange  that 
they  have  been  deemed  worthy  of  so  little  reliance. 
But  Robertson  wrote  upon  the  authority  of  corre- 
spondents in  New  Spain,  one  of  whom,  long  resi- 


452  INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 

dent  in  that  country,  and  professing  to  have  visited 
every  part  of  it,  says  that  "  at  this  day  there  does  not 
remain  the  smallest  vestige  of  any  Indian  building, 
public  or  private,  either  in  Mexico  or  any  province 
of  New  Spain."  Robertson's  informants  v^ere  prob- 
ably foreign  merchants  resident  in  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico, whose  travels  had  been  confined  to  the  beaten 
road,  and  to  places  occupied  by  the  Spaniards ;  and 
at  that  time  the  white  inhabitants  were  in  utter  ig- 
norance of  the  great  cities,  desolate  and  in  ruins, 
that  lay  buried  in  the  forests.  But  at  this  day  better 
information  exists ;  vast  remains  have  been  brought 
to  hght,  and  the  discoveries  prove  incontestably  that 
those  histories  which  make  no  mention  of  these  great 
buildings  are  imperfect,  those  which  deny  their  exist- 
ence are  untrue.  The  graves  cry  out  for  the  old  his- 
torians, and  the  mouldering  skeletons  of  cities  con- 
firm Herrera's  account  of  Yucatan,  that  "  there  were 
so  many  and  such  stately  Stone  Buildings  that  it 
was  Amazing ;  and  the  greatest  Wonder  was  that, 
having  no  Use  of  any  Metal,  they  were  able  to  raise 
such  Structures,  which  seem  to  have  been  Temples, 
for  their  Houses  were  all  of  Timber,  and  thatched." 
And  again,  he  says,  that  "  for  the  Space  of  twenty 
Years  there  was  such  Plenty  throughout  the  Country, 
and  the  People  multiplied  so  much  that  Men  said 
the  whole  Province  looked  like  one  Town." 

These  arguments  then — the  want  of  tradition,  the 
degeneracy  of  the  people,  and  the  alleged  absence  of 
historical  accounts — are  not  sufficient  to  disturb  mj 


THE    ANCESTORS    OF    THE    INDIANS.  453 

belief,  that  the  great  cities  now  lying  in  ruins  were 
the  works  of  the  same  races  who  inhabited  the  coun- 
try at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 

Who  these  people  were,  whence  they  came,  and 
who  were  their  progenitors,  are  questions  that  in- 
volve too  many  considerations  to  be  entered  upon  at 
the  conclusion  of  these  pages  ;  but  all  the  hght  that 
^  history  sheds  upon  them  is  dim  and  faint,  and  may 

be  summed  up  in  few  words. 

According  to  traditions,  picture  writings,  and  Mex- 
ican manuscripts  written  after  the  conquest,  the  Tol- 
J;ecs,  or  Toltecans,  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  the 
land  of  Anahuac,  now  known  as  New  Spain  or  Mex- 
ico, and  they  are  the  oldest  nations  on  the  continent 
of  America  of  w^hich  we  have  any  knowledge.  Ban- 
ished, according  to  their  own  history,  from  their  na- 
tive country,  which  was  situated  to  the  northwest 
of  Mexico,  in  the  year  596  of  our  era,  they  proceed- 
ed southward  under  the  directions  of  their  chiefs, 
and,  after  sojourning  at  various  places  on  the  way 
for  the  space  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  years, 
arrived  at  the  banks  of  a  river  in  the  vale  of  Mexico, 
where  they  built  the  city  of  Tula,  the  capital  of  the 
Toltecan  kingdom,  near  the  site  of  the  present  city 
of  Mexico. 

Their  monarchy  lasted  nearly  four  centuries,  du- 
ring which  they  multiplied,  extended  their  popula- 
tion, and  built  numerous  and  large  cities ;  but  dire- 
ful calamities  hung  over  them.  For  several  years^ 
Heaven  denied  them  rain ;  the  earth  refused  them 


454 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


food ;  the  air,  infected  with  mortal  contagion,  filled 
j  the  graves  with  dead ;  a  great  part  of  the  nation  per- 
ished of  famine  or  sickness ;  the  last  king  was  among 
the  number,  and  in  the  year  1052  the  monarchy  end- 
ed. The  wretched  remains  of  the  nation  took  ref- 
uge, some  in  Yucatan  and  others  in  Guatimala, 
while  some  lingered  around  the  graves  of  their  kin- 
dred in  the  great  vale  where  Mexico  was  afterward 
founded.  For  a  century  the  land  of  Analiuac  lay 
waste  and  depopulated.  The  Chechemecas,  follow- 
ing in  the  track  of  their  ruined  cities,  reoccupied  it, 
and  after  them  the  Acolhuans,  the  Tlastaltecs,  and 
the  Aztecs,  which  last  were  the  subjects  of  Monte- 
zuma at  the  time  of  the  invasion  by  the  Spaniards. 

The  history  of  all  these  tribes  or  nations  is  misty, 
confused,  and  indistinct.  The  Toltecans,  represent- 
ed to  have  been  the  most  ancient,  are  said  to  have 
been  also  the  most  polished.  Probably  they  were 
the  originators  of  that  peculiar  style  of  architecture 
found  in  Guatimala  and  Yucatan,  which  was  adopt- 
ed by  all  the  subsequent  inhabitants ;  and  as,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  annals,  they  did  not  set  out  on  their 
emigration  to  those  countries  from  the  vale  of  Mex- 
ico until  the  year  1052  of  our  era,  the  oldest  cities 
erected  by  them  in  those  countries  could  have  been 
in  existence  but  from  four  to  five  hundred  years  at 
the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest.  This  gives  them 
a  very  modern  date  compared  with  the  Pyramids  and 
temples  of  Egypt,  and  the  other  ruined  monuments 
of  the  Old  World ;  it  gives  them  a  much  less  antiqui- 


FAREWELL    TO  RUINS. 


455 


ty  than  that  claimed  by  the  Maya  manuscript,  and, 
in  fact,  much  less  than  I  should  ascribe  to  them  my- 
self. In  identifying  them  as  the  works  of  the  an- 
cestors of  the  present  Indians,  the  cloud  which  hung 
over  their  origin  is  not  removed  ;  the  time  when  and 
the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  built,  the 
rise,  progress,  and  full  development  of  the  power, 
art,  and  skill  required  for  their  construction,  are 
all  mysteries  which  will  not  easily  be  unravelled. 
They  rise  like  skeletons  from  the  grave,  wrapped  in 
their  burial  shrouds ;  claiming  no  affinity  with  the 
works  of  any  known  people,  but  a  distinct,  independ- 
ent, and  separate  existence.  They  stand  alone,  ab- 
solutely and  entirely  anomalous,  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  subject  which  at  this  day  presents  itself 
to  the  inquiring  mind.  I  leave  them  with  all  their 
mystery  around  them ;  and  in  the  feeble  hope  that 
these  imperfect  pages  may  in  some  way  throw  a 
glimmer  of  light  upon  the  great  and  long  vainly 
mooted  question,  who  were  the  peoplers  of  Ameri- 
ca ?  I  will  now  bid  farewell  to  ruins. 


456 


INCIDENTS   OF  TRAVEL. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Departure. — Arrival  at  Merida. — Old  Acquaintances. — Giraffes.— 
Aspect  of  the  Political  Horizon. — The  great  Question  of  the 
Revolution  undecided. — Nomination  of  Deputies  to  the  Mexican 
Congress. — Santa  Ana's  Ultimatum. — Dissensions. — Pitiable 
Condition  of  the  State. — Cause  of  the  Convulsions  of  the  South- 
ern Republics. — State  Rights. — Preparations  for  Departure  from 
the  Country. — Invasion  of  Yucatan. — Parting  with  Friends. — 
Embarcation  for  Havana.  —  Arrival  there. — A  Paseo. — The 
Tomb  of  Columbus. — Passage  Home. — Conclusion. 

At  two  o'clock  we  mounted  for  Merida,  nine 
leagues  distant.  We  did  not  expect  to  reach  it  till 
night,  and,  from  the  unfortunate  condition  of  our 
travelhng  costume,  did  not  care  to  enter  the  capital 
by  daylight ;  but,  pushing  on,  and  miscalculating  the 
pace  of  our  horses,  We  found  ourselves  in  the  suburbs 
at  that  unlucky  hour  when,  the  excessive  heat  being 
over,  the  inhabitants,  in  full  dress,  were  sitting  in 
the  doorways  or  along  the  side- walks,  talking  over 
the  news  of  the  day,  and  particularly  alive  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  such  a  spectacle  as  our  party  presented. 
We  rode  the  whole  length  of  the  principal  street, 
running  the  gauntlet  between  long  rows  of  eyes, 
and  conscious  that  we  were  not  looked  upon  as 
making  a  very  triumphal  entry.  Approaching  the 
plaza,  an  old  acquaintance  greeted  us,  and  accom- 
panied us  to  the  Casa  de  las  Diligencias,  a  new  es- 
tablishment, opened  since  our  departure,  opposite 
the  convent,  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  in  the 


RETURN    TO    MERIDA.  457 

city,  and  equal  to  a  good  hotel  in  Italy.  Very  soon 
we  had  the  best  apartments,  and  were  sitting  down 
to  the  du  China,  in  English,  tea,  and  pan  Franges, 
or  bread  without  sweetening.  After  our  hard  journey 
among  Indian  ranchos  and  unwholesome  haciendas, 
at  times  all  prostrated  by  illness,  we  had  returned  to 
Merida,  successful  beyond  our  utmost  hopes.  Our 
rough  work  was  all  over,  and  our  satisfaction  can- 
not easily  be  described. 

While  Ungering  over  the  table,  we  heard  the  loud 
ringing  of  the  porter's  bell,  followed  by  landlord  and 
servants  running  and  tumblin^i;  along  the  corridor, 
all  crying  out  "La  Diligencia,"  and  presently  we 
heard  the  tramp  of  horses  and  the  ratthng  of  the  post- 
coach  from  Campeachy,  into  the  court-yard.  The 
passengers  came  up,  and  among  them  we  greeted 
with  lively  satisfaction  our  old  friend  Mr.  Fisher,  that 
citizen  of  the  world,  the  last  traces  of  whom  we  had 
seen  on  the  desolate  island  of  Cozumel.  Another 
passenger,  whose  voice  we  had  heard  rising  in  Eng- 
lish from  the  court-yard  above  the  jargon  of  Spanish 
and  Indian,  as  if  entirely  on  private  account,  and 
indifferent  whether  it  was  understood  or  not,  imme- 
diately accosted  me  as  an  acquaintance ;  said  that  I 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  coming  to  that  place,  and 
if  he  did  not  succeed,  should  come  upon  me  for  dam- 
ages ;  but  I  soon  learned  that  I  had  nothing  to  fear. 
Mr.  Clayton  had  ah-eady  created,  perhaps,  a  greater 
sensation  than  any  stranger  who  ever  visited  that 
country ;  he  had  obtained  a  hold  upon  the  feelings 
Vol.  IL— M  mm  39 


458 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


of  the  people  that  no  explorers  could  ever  win,  and 
will  be  remembered  long  after  we  are  forgotten.  He 
had  brought  from  the  United  States  an  entire  circus 
company,  with  spotted  horses,  a  portable  theatre,  con- 
taining seats  for  a  thousand  persons,  riders,  clowns, 
and  monkeys,  all  complete.  No  such  thing  had  ever 
been  seen  before ;  it  threw  far  into  the  shade  Da- 
guerreotype and  curing  biscos.  He  had  turned 
Campeachy  upside  down,  and  leaving  his  company 
there  to  soothe  the  excitement  and  pick  up  the  pesos, 
he  had  come  up  to  make  arrangements  for  opening 
in  Merida.  And  this  was  by  no  means  Mr.  Clay- 
ton's first  enterprise.  He  had  brought  the  first  gi- 
raffes into  the  United  States  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  his  accounts  of  penetrating  fifteen  hun- 
dred miles  into  the  interior  of  Africa,  of  his  adven- 
tures among  the  Caffres,  of  shooting  lions,  and  his 
high  excitement  when,  on  a  fleet  horse,  he  ran  down 
and  shot  his  first  giraffe,  made  the  exploration  of 
ruins  seem  a  rather  tame  business.  He  reached  the 
Cape  with  four  giraffes,  but  two  died  after  their  ar- 
rival, and  with  the  others  he  embarked  for  New- 
York,  where  he  expected  to  deliver  them  over  to  the 
parties  interested ;  but  from  the  great  care  required 
m  their  treatment,  it  became  indispensable  for  him 
to  travel  with  them  while  they  were  exhibited.  In 
one  of  the  \yestern  states  he  encountered  a  travelling 
circus  company,  which  undertook  to  run  an  opposi- 
tion on  the  same  line  of  travel.  The  giraffes  were 
rather  too  strong  for  the  horses,  and  a  proposition 
was  made  to  him  to  unite  the  two  and  become  di- 


THE    POLITICAL  HORIZON. 


459 


rector  of  both,  which  he  accepted.  He  afterward 
bouo^lit  the  latter  out,  and  so  became  the  manager 
of  a  stroUing  circus  company.  With  it  he  travelled 
all  over  the  United  States,  but  in  Canada  his  last 
giraffe  died,  and  left  him  with  a  stock  of  horses  and 
a  company  on  hand.  He  returned  to  New-York, 
chartered  a  brig,  and  after  touching  and  exhibiting 
at  several  West  India  Islands,  sailed  for  Campeachy, 
where  he  was  received  with  such  enthusiasm,  that 
among  the  benefits  conferred  upon  mankind  by  au- 
thors, I  rank  high  that  of  having  been  the  means  of 
introducing  a  circus  company  into  Yucatan,  in  the 
belief  that  it  may  prove  the  first  step  toward  break- 
ing up  the  popular  taste  for  bull-fights. 

The  next  morning  we  advertised  for  sale  our 
horses  and  equipments,  and  salhed  out  to  visit  our 
friends.  Great  changes  had  taken  place  since  our 
departure.  Abroad  the  political  horizon  was  stormy. 
News  had  been  received  of  increased  difficulties, 
comphcated  and  uncertain  negotiations,  and  ap- 
prehensions of  war  between  our  own  country  and 
England  ;  also  of  the  failure  of  the  Santa  Fe  expedi- 
tion, the  capture  and  imprisonment  of  American  cit- 
izens, and  that  Texas  and  the  whole  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  were  in  arms  to  carry  the  war  into  Mex- 
ico. And  black  clouds  were  low^ering,  also,  over  Yu- 
catan. The  governor  had  lost  his  popularity.  The 
great  question  opened  by  the  revolution  two  years 
before  was  not  yet  decided.  Independence  was 
not  declared  ;  on  the  contrary,  during  our  absence 


460 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


a  commissioner  had  arrived  from  Mexico,  and  had 
negotiated  a  treaty  for  the  retm-n  of  Yucatan  to  the 
Mexican  confederacy,  subject  to  the  approval  or  dis- 
approval of  the  Mexican  government.  In  the  mean 
while,  electors  were  called  to  nominate  deputies  to 
the  Mexican  Congress,  as  if  the  treaty  was  approved, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Legislature  was  summoned 
in  extraordinary  session,  to  provide  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  state  against  invasion,  in  case  the  treaty 
should  be  rejected.  Both  bodies  were  then  sitting. 
Three  days  after  our  return,  a  vessel  arrived  at  Sis- 
al, having  on  board  a  special  envoy,  bearing  Santa 
Ana's  ultimatum.  He  was  detained  one  day  at  the 
port,  while  the  government  considered  the  expedi- 
ency of  permitting  him  to  visit  the  capital.  Apart- 
ments were  prepared  for  him  at  our  hotel,  but  he 
was  taken  to  the  house  of  the  secretary  of  war,  os- 
tensibly to  save  him  from  insult  and  violence  by  the 
populace,  who  were  represented  as  highly  excited 
against  Mexico,  but  in  reality  to  prevent  him  from 
holding  communication  with  the  partisans  in  favour 
of  reunion.  Great  dissensions  had  grown  up.  The 
revolution  had  been  almost  unanimous,  but  two  years 
of  quasi  independence  had  produced  a  great  change 
of  feeling.  The  rich  complained  of  profligate  ex- 
penditures, merchants  of  the  breaking  up  of  trade  by 
the  closing  of  the  Mexican  ports,  and  while  many 
asked  what  they  had  gained  by  a  separation,  a  strong 
"independent"  party  was  more  clamorous  than  ever 
for  breaking  the  last  link  that  bound  them  to  Mexico. 


PITIABLE  CONDITION  OF  THE  STATE. 


461 


I  was  in  the  Senate  Chamber  when  the  ukimatum 
of  Santa  Ana  was  read.  A  smile  of  derision  flitted 
over  the  faces  of  senators,  and  it  was  manifest  that 
the  terms  would  not  be  accepted,  jet  no  man  rose 
to  offer  a  declaration  of  independence.  In  the  lob- 
by, however,  an  open  threat  was  made  to  proclaim 
it  viva  voce  in  tlie  plaza  on  the  coming  Sunday,  and 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cannon.  Tiie  condition  of  the 
state  was  pitiable  in  the  extreme.  It  was  a  melan- 
choly comment  upon  republican  government,  and 
the  most  melancholy  feature  was  that  this  condition 
did  not  proceed  from  the  ignorant  and  uneducated 
masses.  The  Indians  were  all  quiet,  and,  though 
doomed  to  fight  the  battles,  knew  nothing  of  the 
questions  involved.  It  is  my  firm  conviction  that 
the  constant  and  unceasing  convulsions  of  the  south- 
ern republics  more  than  from  any  other  cause  grow 
out  of  the  non-recognition  or  the  violation  of  that 
great  saving  principle  known  among  us  as  state 
rights.  The  general  government  aims  constantly 
at  dominion  over  the  states.  Far  removed  by  po- 
sition, ignorant  of  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  re- 
gardless of  their  feelings,  it  sends  from  the  capital 
its  military  commandant,  places  him  above  the  local 
authorities,  cripples  the  strength  of  the  state,  and 
drains  its  coffers  to  support  a  strong,  consolidated 
power.  Such  were  the  circumstances  which  had 
placed  Yucatan  in  arms  against  the  general  govern- 
ment, and  such,  ere  this,  might  have  been  the  condi- 
tion of  our  own  republic,  but  for  the  triumphant  as- 


462 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


sertion  of  the  great  republican  principle  that  the 
states  are  sovereign,  and  their  rights  sacred. 

While  the  clouds  w^ere  becoming  darker  and  more 
portentous,  we  were  preparing  for  our  departure  from 
the  country.  A  vessel  was  then  at  Sisal  ready  to 
sail.  It  was  one  wliich  we  had  hoped  never  to 
be  on  board  of  again,  being  the  old  Alexandre,  in 
which  we  made  our  former  unlucky  voyage,  but  we 
had  now  no  alternative,  being  advised  that  if  we  lost 
that  opportunity,  it  was  entirely  uncertain  when  an- 
other would  present  itself.  At  the  request  of  the 
governor,  we  delayed  our  departure  a  few  days,  that 
he  might  communicate  Avith  a  relative  in  Campeachy, 
who  wished  a  surgical  operation  performed  by  Doc- 
tor Cabot,  and  had  passed  two  months  in  Merida 
awaiting  our  return.  In  the  mean  time  the  govern- 
or procured  the  detention  of  the  vessel. 

On  Sunday,  the  sixteenth  of  May,  early  in  the 
morning,  we  sent  off  our  luggage  for  the  port,  and  in 
the  afternoon  we  joined  for  the  last  time  in  a  paseo. 
All  day  we  had  received  intimations  that  an  out- 
break was  apprehended;  a  volcano  was  burning 
and  heaving  with  inward  fires,  but  there  was  the 
same  cheerfulness,  gayety,  and  prettiness  as  before, 
producing  on  *our  minds  the  same  pleasing  impres- 
sion, making  us  hope  that  these  scenes  might  be 
long  continued,  and,  above  all,  that  they  might  not 
be  transformed  into  scenes  of  blood.  Alas  !  before 
these  pages  were  concluded,  that  country  which  we 
had  looked  upon  as  a  picture  of  peace,  and  in  which 


HAVANA. 


46a 


we  had  met  with  so  much  kindness,  was  torn  and 
distracted  by  internal  dissensions,  the  blast  of  civil 
war  was  sounding  through  its  borders,  and  an  exas- 
perated, hostile  army  had  landed  upon  its  shores. 

In  the  evening  we  rode  to  the  house  of  Doiaa 
Joaquina  Peon,  said  farewell  to  our  first,  last,  and 
best  friends  in  Merida,  and  at  ten  o'clock  started  for 
the  port. 

On  Tuesday,  the  eighteenth,  we  embarked  for  Ha- 
vana. The  old  Alexandre  had  been  altered  and  im- 
proved in  her  sailing,  but  not  in  her  accommoda- 
tions. In  fact,  having  on  board  eleven  passengers, 
among  whom  were  three  women  and  two  children, 
these  could  not  well  have  been  worse,  and  at  one 
time  our  voyage  threatened  to  be  as  long  as  the  oth- 
er of  unfortunate  memory,  but  the  captain,  a  survi- 
ver  of  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  was  the  same  excel- 
lent fellow  as  before.  On  the  second  of  June  we 
anchored  under  the  walls  of  the  Moro  Castle.  Be- 
fore obtaining  passports  to  land,  a  barque  entered, 
which  we  immediately  recognised  as  an  American, 
and  on  landing,  learned  that  she  was  the  Ann  Loui- 
sa, Captain  Clifford,  one  of  a  line  of  packets  from 
Vera  Cruz,  had  put  in  short  of  water,  and  was  to 
sail  the  next  day  for  New- York.  The  yellow  fever 
had  already  broken  out ;  there  was  no  other  vessel 
in  port,  and  we  determined,  if  possible,  to  get  on 
board,  but  we  were  met  with  a  difficuhy,  Avhich  at 
first  threatened  to  be  insuperable.  By  the  regula- 
tions of  the  port,  it  was  necessary  for  all  luggage  to 


464 


INCIDENTS    OF  TRAVEL. 


be  carried  to  the  custom-house  for  mspection,  and 
a  Hst  furnished  beforehand  of  every  article.  The 
last  was  utterly  impossible,  as  we  had  on  board  the 
whole  miscellaneous  collection  made  on  our  jour- 
ney, with  no  such  thing  as  a  memorandum  of  the 
items.  But  by  the  active  kindness  of  our  late  con- 
sul, Mr.  Calhoun,  and  the  courtesy  of  his  excellen- 
cy the  governor,  a  special  order  was  procured  for 
transferring  the  w^hole  without  inspection  from  one 
vessel  to  the  other.  The  next  day  was  occupied  in 
the  details  of  this  business,  and  in  the  afternoon  we 
joined  in  a  paseo,  the  style  and  show  of  which, 
for  the  moment,  made  us  think  slightingly  of  the 
simple  exhibition  at  Merida ;  and  after  dark,  by  the 
light  of  a  single  candle,  with  heads  uncovered,  we 
stood  before  the  marble  slab  enclosing  the  bones  of 
Columbus. 

On  the  fourth  we  embarked  on  board  the  Ann  Lou- 
isa. She  was  full  of  passengers,  principally  Span- 
iards escaping  from  the  convulsions  of  Mexico,  but 
Captain  Clifford  contrived  to  give  us  accommoda- 
tions much  better  than  we  were  used  to,  and  we 
found  on  board  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of 
Atlantic  packets.  On  the  seventeenth  we  reached 
New- York.  The  reader  and  I  must  again  part,  and 
trusting  that  he  will  find  nothing  in  these  pages  to 
disturb  the  friendship  that  has  hitherto  existed  be- 
tween us,  I  again  return  him  my  thanks  for  his  kind- 
ness, and  bid  him  farewelL 


APPENDIX  TO  VOL.  11. 


A  MANUSCRIPT  WRITTEN  IN  THE  MAYA  LANGUAGE,  TREATING  OF  THE  PRINCI- 
PAL EPOCHS  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PENINSULA  OF  YUCATAN  BEFORE  THE 
CONQUEST.     WITH  COMMENTS  BY  DON  PIO  PEREZ. 

Principal  Epochs  of  the  Ancient  History  of  Yucatan. 


Maya. 

Lai  u  tzolan  Katun  lukci  ti  cab  ti 
yotoch  Nonoual  cante  anilo  Tutul 
Xiu  ti  chikin  Zuina;  u  luumil  u 
talelobTulapanchiconahthan.  Can- 
te bin  ti  Katun  lie  u  ximbalob  ca 
uliob  uaye  yetel  Holon  Chantepeuh 
yetel  u  cuchulob:  ca  hokiob  ti  pe- 
tene  uaxac  Ahau  bin  yan  cuchi,  uac 
Abau,  can  Ahau  cabil  Ajau,  can- 
kal  haab  catac  hunppel  haab ;  tumen 
hun  piztun  oxlahun  Ahau  cuchie  ca 
uliob  uay  ti  petene  cankal  haab  ca- 
tac hunppel  haab  tu  pakteil  yete  cu 
xinbalob  lukci  tu  luumilob  ca  talob 
uay  ti  petene  Chacnouitan  lae. 


Vaxac  Ahau,  uac  Ahau,  cabil 
Ajau  kuchci  Chacnouitan  Ahmekat 
Tutul  Xiu  hunppel  haab  minan  ti 
hokal  haab  cuchi  yanob  Chacnoui- 
tan lae. 

Laitun  uchciu  chicpahal  Tzucub- 
te  Ziyan-caan  lae  Bakhalal,  can 
Ahau,  cabil  Ahau,  oxlahun  Ahau 
oxkal  haab  cu  tepalob  Ziyan-caan 
ca  emob  uay  lae:  lai  u  haabil  cu 
tepalob  Bakhalal  chuulte  laitun 
chicpahi  Chichen  Itza  iae. 

Vol.  II.— N  n  n 


Translation. 

This  is  the  series  of  "  Katunes,"  or 
epochs,  that  elapsed  from  the  time  of 
their  departure  from  the  land  and 
house  of  Nonoual,  in  which  were  the 
four  Tutul  Xiu,  lying  to  the  west  of 
Zuina,  going  out  of  the  country  of 
Tulapan.  Four  epochs  were  spent 
in  travelling  before  they  arrived  here, 
with  Tolonchantepeuj  and  his  fol- 
lowers. When  they  began  their  jour- 
ney toward  this  island,  it  was  the 
8th  Ajau,  and  the  6lh,  4th,  and  2d 
were  spent  in  travelling ;  because  in 
the  first  year  of  the  13th  Ajau  they 
arrived  at  this  island,  making  togeth- 
er eighty -one  years  they  were  travel- 
ling, between  their  departure  from 
their  country  and  their  arrival  at  this 
island  of  Chacnouitan. 

In  the  8th  Ajau  arrived  Ajmekat 
Tutul  Xiu,  and  ninety-nine  years 
they  remained  in  Chacnouitan. 


Then  took  place  the  discovery  of 
the  province  of  Ziyan-caan,  or  Baca- 
lar;  the  4th  Ajau,  the  2d,  and  the 
13th,  or  sixty  years,  they  ruled  in 
Ziyan-caan,  when  they  came  here. 
During  these  years  of  their  govern- 
ment of  the  province  of  Bacalar  oc- 
curred the  discovery  of  Chichen  Itza. 


466 


APPENDIX. 


Balac  Ahan,  bokm  Ajan,  nuc 
Allan,  ho  Ahan, ox  Ahau, hun  Ahaa 
nac  kal  haab  ca  tepalob  Chiehen 
Itza  ca  pari  Chiehen  Itza,  ca  binob 
cahtal  Chanpotim  ti  janhi  u  yoto- 
chob  ah  Ytzoaib  ktrf  en  nmcob  ]ae. 

Tac  Ahan.  chncac  n  Immul  Chan- 
paton,  can  Ahan,  caMl  Ahan,  oi- 
lahnn  Ahan,  buloe  Ahan,  bolon 
Ahan,  nnc  Ahan,  ho  Ahan,  ox  Ahan, 
hnn  Ahan,  lahca  Ahan,  lahnn  Ajan ; 
naxac  Ahan  paxci  ChanpntniL  ox- 
labnn  kaal  haab  cn  tepalob  Chan- 
pntnn  tnmeiiel  Ytza  nincob  ca  talob 
u  Izacle  n  jotochob  tn  eaten,  laix  tun 
n  katnnil  binciob  ah  Ttzaob  jalan  che 
yalan  aban  jalan  ak  ti  numvaob  lae. 

Vac  Ahan,  can  Ahan.  ca  kal  haab 
catalob  n  heoob  yotoch  tn  eaten  ca 
tazaial:';  C Lr.'-'.'.^.zinrL 

Lai  n  katnnil  cabQ  Ahan,  n  he^- 
ci  cab  Ahenitok  Tntnl  Xin  YxmaL 
Cabil  Ahan,  oxlahnn  Ahan,  bnlnc 
Ahan,  bolon  Ahan,  nnc  Ahan,  ho 
Ahan,  ox  Ahan,  hnn  Ahan,  lahca 
Ahan,  lahnn  Ahan,  lahnn  kal  haab 
cn  tepalob  yetel  H  halarh  niniril 
Chiehen  Itza  yetel  Mayalpan. 

Lai  n  katnnil  bnlnc  Ajan,  bol(Hi 
Ahan,  nac  Ahan.  naxae  Ahan.  pax- 
ci n  halaeh  ninicil  Chichi  Itza 
tnmenel  n  kebanthan  Hnnac-eel,  ca 
nch  ii  Chacxib-chac  Chiehen  Itzatn 
kebanthan  Hnnac-eel  n  halach  nini- 
cil Mayalpan  ichpac.  Cankal  haab 
caiac  lahnn  piz  haab.  tn  lahnn  tim 
naxae  Ahan  enchie:  lai  n  haabil 
paxci  tumenel  Ahzinteyntchan  yetel 
Tznnte-cnm,  yetel  Taxcal,  yetel  Pan- 
temit,  Xnch-ncnet,  yetel  Yizcnat,  ye- 
tel Kakaltecat  lay  n  kaba  ninicOob 
lae  nncmlob  ahmayapanob  lae. 


The  11th  Ajan,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d, 
and  1st  Ajan,  or  120  years,  they 
ruled  in  Chiehen  Itza,  when  it  was 
abandoned,  and  they  emigrated  to 
Champoton,  where  the  Ytzaes,  holy 
men,  had  houses. 

The  6th  Ajan  they  took  possession 
ofthetenitoiT  of  Champoton;  the4th 
Ajan,  ad,  13tii,  11th,  9th,  Tlh,  5ih,  3d, 
1st,  12th,  10th,  and  the  8th,  Champotoii 
was  destroyed  or  abandoned.  Two 
hundred  and  six^  years  reigned  the 
Yczaes  in  Champoton,  when  they  le- 
tnmed  in  search  of  their  homes,  and 
then  they  lived  for  sereral  epochs 
nndex  the  mrinhabited  mountains. 

The  6di  Ajan,  4th  Ajan.  after  40 
years,  they  returned  to  their  homes 
<mce  more,  and  Champoton  was  lost 
to  theoL 

In  this  Katun  of  ad  Ajan,  Aj- 
cuitok  Tntnl  Xin  established  him- 
self in  Uxmal:  the  2d  Ajan,  the  13th, 
11th,  9th,  7th,  5th,  3d,  1st,  the  12th  and 
the  10th  Ajan,  equal  to  200  years,  they 
goremed  and  reigned  in  Uxmal,  with 
the  governors  of  Chiehen  Itza  and 
of  Mayapan. 

After  the  lapse  of  the  Ajan  Ka- 
tnnes  ai  11th,  9th,  6th  Ajan,  in  the 
8th  the  Governor  of  Chiehen  Itza 
was  deposed,  because  he  murmured 
disrespectfully  against  Tunac-eel; 
this  happened  to  Cbacxibehac  of  Chi- 
ehen Itza,  who  had  spoken  against 
Tunac-eel,  governor  of  the  fortress  ol 
Mayalpan.  Ninety  years  had  elap- 
sed, but  the  10th  of  the  8th  Ajan  was 
the  year  in  which  he  was  overthrown 
by  Ajzinte-yntchan,  with  Tznnte- 
cum,  Taxcal,  Pantemit,  Xncb-ucn^ 
Ytzcuat,  and  Kakaltecat;  these  are 
the  names  of  the  7  Mayalpanes. 


APPENDIX. 


467 


Laili  u  katunil  uaxac  Ahau,  lai  ca 
binob  u  ]:a  ah  Vlmil  Ahau  tumenel 
u  uahal-uahob  yetel  ah  Ytzmal  VI  il 
Ahau  lae  Oxlahun  uuo  u  katunilob 
ca  paxob  tumen  Hunac-eel  tumenel 
U  oabalu  naatob;  uacAhau  caooci: 
hunkal  haab  calac  can  lahun  pizf. 

Vac  Ahau,  can  Ahau,  cabil  Ahau, 
oxlahun  Ahau,  buluc  ahau,  chucuc 
u  luumil  ich  pa  Mayalpan,  tumenel 
u  pach  lulum,  tumenel  muUepal  ich 
cah  Mayalpan,  tumenel  Ytza  uinicob 
yetel  ah  Vlmil  Ahau  lae,  can  kaal 
haab  caiac  oxppel  haab :  yocol  buluc 
Ahau  cuchie  paxci  Mayalpan  tume- 
nel ahuitzil  oul,  tan  cah  Mayalpan. 


Vaxac  Ahau  lay  paxci  Mayalpan 
lai  u  katunil  uac  Ahau,  can  Ahau, 
cabil  Ahau,  lai  haab  ca  yax  mani 
upaiioles  u  yaxilci  caa  luumi  Yuca- 
tan tzucubte  lae,  oxkal  haab  paxac 
ich  pa  cuchie. 

Oxlahun  Ahau,  buluc  Ahau,  uchci 
mayacimil  ich  pa  yetel  nohkakil: 
oxlahun  Ahau  cimci  Ahpula  uacp- 
pel  haab  u  binel  ma  oococ  u  xocol 
oxlahun  Ahau  cuchie,  ti  yanil  u  xo- 
col haab  ti  lakin  cuchie,  canil  kan 
cumlahi  pop,  tu  holhun  Zip  catac 
oxppeli,  bolon  Ymix  u  kinil  lai  cimi 
Ahpula;  laitun  ano  cuximbal  cuchi 
lae  ca  oheltabac  lay  u  xoc  numeroil 
aiios  lae  1536  anos  cuchie,  oxkal  ha- 
ab paaxac  ich  pa  cuchi  lae. 

Laili  ma  oococ  u  xocol  buluc 
Ahau  lae  lai  ulci  erpaiioles  kul  uin- 
cob  ti  lakin  u  talob  ca  uliob  uay  tac 
hurmil  lae  bolon  Ahau  hoppci  cris- 
tianoil  uchci  caputzihil:  laili  ichil  u 


In  this  same  period,  or  Katun,  of 
the  8th  Ajau,  they  attacked  King 
Ulmil,  in  consequence  of  his  quar- 
rel with  Ulil,  king  of  Yzamal;  thir- 
teen divisions  of  troops  had  he  when 
he  was  routed  by  Tunac-eel ;  in  the 
6th  Ajau  the  war  was  over,  after  34 
years. 

In  the  6th  Ajau,  4th  Ajau,  2d 
Ajau,  13th  Ajau,  11th  Ajau,  the  for- 
tified territory  of  Mayalpan  was  in- 
vaded by  the  men  of  Ytza,  under 
their  King  Ulmil,  because  they  had 
walls,  and  governed  in  common  the 
people  of  Mayalpan ;  eighty-three 
years  elapsed  after  this  event,  and  at 
the  beginning  of  the  11th  Ajau  May- 
alpan was  destroyed  by  strangers  of 
the  Uitzes,  or  Highlanders,  as  was 
also  Tancaj  of  Mayalpan. 

In  the  6.h  Ajau  Mayalpan  was 
destroyed ;  the  epochs  of  6th  Ajau, 
4lh  and  2d  Ajau,  elapsed,  and  at  this 
period  the  Spaniards,  for  the  first 
time,  arrived,  and  gave  the  name  of 
Yucatan  to  this  province,  sixty  years 
after  the  destruction  of  the  fortress. 

The  13th  Ajau,  llih  Ajau,  pesti- 
lence and  smallpox  were  in  the  cas- 
tles. In  the  13th  Ajau  Ajpula  died; 
six  years  were  M-anting  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  13th  Ajau;  this  year 
was  counted  toward  the  east  of  the 
wheel,  and  began  on  the  4th  "  Kan." 
Ajpula  died  on  thq  18th  day  of  the 
month  Zip,  in  the  9th  Ymix;  and 
that  it  may  be  known  in  numbers,  it 
was  the  year  1536,  sixty  years  after 
the  demolition  of  the  fortress. 

Before  the  termination  of  the  11th 
Ajau  the  Spaniards  arrived ;  holy 
men  from  the  East  came  with  them 
when  they  reached  this  land.  The 
9th  Ajau  was  the  commencement  of 


468 


APPENDIX. 


katanil  lae  ulci  yax  obispo  Toroba  baptism  and  Christianity ;  and  in 
u  kaba.  this  year  was  the  arrival  of  Toral, 

the  first  bishop. 

Thus  far  only  from  the  Maya  manuscript,  because  the  other  events  cited 
are  posterior  to  the  conquest,  and  of  little  historical  interest.  Although 
this  manuscript  may  contain  some  errors  which  should  be  rectified,  still,  as 
these  are  committed  in  the  numeration  of  the  epochs,  or  Ajaues,  which  do 
not  keep  a  correlative  numerical  order,  it  was  very  easy  for  the  author, 
who  wrote  from  memory,  to  transpose  them ;  preserving  solely  the  number 
of  periods  which  elapsed  between  the  occurrence  of  one  and  the  other 
event,  without  designating  correctly  the  sign  of  the  period.  I  repeat  that 
the  writer  of  this  epitome  did  it  from  memory,  because  it  was  done  long 
after  the  conquest:  the  histories,  paintings,  and  hieroglyphics  of  the  In- 
dians had  about  this  period  been  collected  by  order  of  Bishop  Landa,  as  is 
related  by  Cogolludo  in  his  history ;  and  likewise  because  his  historical 
narrative  is  so  succinct,  that  it  appears  rather  a  list  than  a  circumstantial 
detail  of  the  events.  But,  notwithstanding  these  defects,  as  the  manuscript 
is  the  only  one  which  has  been  found  treating  of  this  matter,  it  is  well 
worthy  the  trouble  of  correcting  and  analyzing  it,  on  account  of  the  ideas 
which  it  communicates  respecting  the  ancient  history  and  establishment  of 
the  principal  peoples  of  that  time,  whose  ruins  are  admired  at  the  present 
day,  such  as  those  of  Chichen  and  Uxmal ;  deducing  from  these,  what  were 
the  others  which  the  traveller  encounters,  and  whose  origin  is  unknown. 

The  manuscript  may  be  abridged  in  the  following  manner:  "Four 
epochs  were  expended  by  the  Toltecos  between  their  departure  from  their 
city  under  the  direction  of  Tolonchante  Peech,  and  their  arrival  at  Chac- 
nouitan.*  They  arrived  at  this  province  of  Chacnouitan  in  the  first  year 
of  the  following  epoch,  and  remained  in  the  same  place  with  their  crptain 
Ajmekat  Tutul  Xiu  during  the  space  of  four  epochs  more.t  They  discov- 
ered Ziyancan,  or  Bacalar,  and  governed  in  it  three  epochs,  until  they 
came  to  Chichen  Itza.:  They  remained  here  until  their  departure  to  colo- 
nize Champoton,  a  period  of  six  epochs.§  From  the  discovery  of  Cham- 
poton,  where  they  settled  and  reigned  until  it  was  destroyed,  and  they  lost 
it,  thirteen  epochs  elapsed. II  They  were  wanderers  among  the  hills  during 
two  epochs,  when  they  established  themselves  for  the  second  time  at  Chi- 
chen Itza.lT  In  the  following  epoch,  Ajcuitok  Tutul  Xiu  colonized  U.xmal, 
and  reigned  with  the  governor  of  Mayapan  during  ten  epochs.**  After  a 
farther  lapse  of  three  epochs,  and  on  the  tenth  year  of  the  one  following, 
Chacxibchac,  governor  of  Chichen  Itza,  was  defeated  by  Ttmac-eel,  gov- 

*  From  the  year  144  of  the  vulgar  era  up  to  217.  t  From  218  until  360. 

t  From  360  until  432.  (>  From  432  until  576.  II  From  576  until  888. 

T  From  888  until  936.  **  From  936  until  1176. 


APPENDIX. 


469 


emor  of  Mayapan,  and  his  seven  generals.*  In  this  same  epoch  of  the  de- 
feat of  the  Governor  of  Chichen,  they  marched  to  attack  Ulmil,  king  of 
Chichen,  because  he  had  made  war  against  Ulil,  king  of  Yzamal,  and  the 
object  was  effected  by  Tunac-eel  in  the  following  epoch.t  After  this 
epoch,  Ulmil,  king  of  Chichen,  recovering  from  his  defeat,  invaded  the 
territory  of  Mayapan  in  the  following  epoch,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  two 
more,  and  in  the  third  year  of  the  one  following,  Mayapan  was  destroyed 
by  the  strangers,  inhabitants  of  the  hills.t  After  the  lapse  of  three  more 
epochs,  the  Spaniards  arrived  for  the  first  time,  and  gave  to  this  province 
the  name  of  Yucatan.§  In  the  following  epoch  occurred  the  plague,  which 
visited  even  the  temples  and  castles ;  and  in  its  sixth  year  Ajpula  died,  on 
the  11th  of  September,  1493.11  In  the  eleventh  epoch,  and  the  last  of  this 
record,  was  the  arrival  of  the  conquerors ;  this  happened  in  1527.ir  In  the 
following  epoch  the  conquest  was  finished,  and  the  first  bishop  reached  the 
province:  the  first  occurred  in  January,  1541,  and  the  other  in  1560." 


MEMORANDUM  FOR  THE  ORNITHOLOGY  OF  YUCATAN. 

The  genus  Accipitres,  including  eagles,  falcons,  buzzards,  &c,,  is  very 
numerous,  and  of  these  three  or  four  new  varieties  were  obtained.  One,  a 
beautiful  hawk,  resembling  in  its  markings  the  goshawk  (Falco  Atrica- 
pillus),  differing,  however,  in  its  form,  in  the  bill,  colour  of  its  eyes  (dark 
brown),  in  not  having  the  white  line  over  the  eyes,  and  in  the  bands  on  the 
tail.  The  first  specimen  was  killed  at  Uxmal,  but  afterward  many  others 
were  procured,  and  two  were  brought  home.  Another  new  and  beautiful 
species  is  a  falcon  of  a  very  noble  character  in  the  form  of  its  bill  and  head, 
and  in  its  habits ;  of  which  two  specimens  were  obtained  at  Chichen  Itza, 
the  male  being  shot  over  the  senote  during  a  heavy  shower.  No  others 
but  this  pair  were  seen.  Another  is  undescribed,  or,  if  described,  imper- 
fectly so,  under  the  name  of  the  mingled  buzzard  of  Latham  (La  Busc 
Mixte  Noire.  Voy,  d'Azara,  vol.  iii,.  No.  20).  It  is  a  large  black  hawk, 
and  was  obtained,  the  female  at  Punta  Franqaise,  and  the  male  at  the  isl- 
and of  Cozumel,  where  a  nest  also  was  found,  but  was  destroyed,  together 
with  the  eggs,  in  consequence  of  Dr.  Cabot's  being  obliged  to  have  the  tree 
felled.  He  afterward  procured  an  egg  from  a  nest  between  Silan  and  Las 
Bockas  de  Silan.  Another  very  beautiful  hawk  is  shaped  much  like  the 
little  corporal  of  Audubon,  and  belongs  to  the  same  division  of  hawks  as 
the  hobby  falcon  of  Europe.   It  is  a  bold  hawk,  and  is  met  with  about 

*  From  1176  until  1258,  in  which  was  the  defeat.  t  From  1258  until  1272. 

t  From  1272  until  1368,  the  date  of  the  destruction  of  Mayapan.  And  the  following-, 
from  1368  to  1392.  ^  From  1392  until  1488.  II  From  1488  until  1512. 

IF  From  1512  until  1536,  which  concluded  the  eleventh  epoch  ;  the  following  one  beginning 
in  1536,  and  concluding  in  the  year  1560. 

40 


470 


APPENDIX. 


the  ruins  and  on  the  tops  of  the  churches.  It  is  quite  abundant  in  Yu- 
catan, though  only  one  specimen  was  obtained,  which  was  shot  from  the 
top  of  the  cross  over  the  gateway  at  the  hacienda  of  the  senote  (Mu- 
cuyche),  as  we  rode  up  on  our  way  to  Uxmal.  There  does  not  appear  to 
be  any  published  description  of  this  hawk.  Still  another  hawk  was  pro- 
cured, which  also  seems  not  to  have  been  described;  but,  as  it  appears  to 
be  in  immature  plumage,  it  may  be  the  young  of  some  known  bird.  Be- 
sides these,  among  the  specimens  is  the  laughing  falcon  (Falco  Cachin- 
nans  of  Lin.).  It  is  called  by  the  natives  koss,  and  was  shot  at  Chichen 
Itza  near  the  Castillo,  and  was  stutFed.  Another  specimen  of  the  same  bird 
was  procured  on  the  way  from  Nohcacab  to  Uxmal,  after  our  first  attack 
of  sickness.    These  birds  are  quite  numerous  throughout  Yucatan, 

Of  the  genus  Strix  but  three  varieties  were  seen,  and  of  those  two  were 
preserved,  both  of  which  are  believed  to  be  undescribed.  The  first,  a  little 
owl,  about  six  inches  and  a  half  long,  of  a  tawny  colour,  lighter  beneath, 
which  was  shot  near  Merida.  The  second  is  about  six  inches  long,  of  a 
brown  above  and  lighter  beneath,  called  by  the  natives  tiquim  thohca. 
Several  specimens  of  both  these  owls  were  seen.  The  third  was  caught 
in  one  of  the  ruined  buildings,  and  kept  alive  for  a  little  while,  but  after- 
ward escaped.  It  resembled  somewhat  the  Strix  Aluco  of  Europe.  One 
was  afterward  shot  at  Sabachshe,  but  was  so  much  injured  that  it  could 
not  be  stutFed. 

Of  the  genus  Corvus  were  procured  three  species,  two  of  which  are  ap- 
parently not  described.  The  first  is  a  very  beautiful  jay,  the  head  and 
belly  black ;  back,  wings,  and  tail  of  a  beautiful  blue ;  the  bill  of  the  male 
is  yellow,  and  of  the  female  black ;  the  legs  yellow.  It  was  first  seen  and 
shot  near  Sisal,  on  the  way  up  to  Merida,  and  afterward  several  other  spe- 
cimens were  obtained  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  for  they  are  numer- 
ous throughout  Yucatan.  The  other  was  first  met  with  at  Uxmal,  where 
a  female  was  shot,  and  afterward  two  males.  They  are  of  a  dark  brown 
on  the  head,  neck,  back,  and  tail ;  belly  white;  bill  of  male  black,  and  female 
yellow ;  they  have  a  most  singular  formation  of  the  trachea,  there  being  a 
sort  of  membranous  sack  or  bag  coming  ofi"  in  front  of  the  trachea  at  about 
the  middle  of  its  length,  and  intimately  connected  with  the  skin  of  the  necki 
this  formation,  together  with  the  great  muscularity  of  the  larynx,  may  ac- 
count for  their  excessively  loud  and  disagreeable  cry.  The  other  jay  is  the 
Corvus  Peruvianus,  Peruvian  jay.  (Shaw,  vol.  viii.,  plate  27.)  This 
most  beautiful  bird  is  found  in  great  abundance  in  almost  all  parts  of 
Yucatan,  which  is  probably  its  native  country,  as  it  is  mentioned  as  rare 
in  Peru. 

Of  the  genus  Psittacus  were  procured  four  species,  three  of  which  have 
been  described,  and  perhaps  the  fourth  also  ;  but,  as  the  specimen  is  bad,  it 
is  not  easy  to  ascertain  positively  whether  it  has  or  not.  One,  the  Psit- 
tacus Albifrons  (Ind.  Orn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  119),  white-crowned  parrot  (Shaw, 


APPENDIX. 


471 


voL  viii>,  p.  519),  is  very  numerous  throughout  Yucatan,  It  is  a  beau- 
tiful bird,  coloured  with  green,  blue,  red,  white,  and  yellow.  Another, 
supposed  to  be  the  Psittacus  Guianensis  (Gen.  Lil.,  vol,  i.,  p.  323),  the 
green  parrot  of  Guiana  (Gen.  Syn.,  i.,  231 ),  is  not  so  abundant  as  the  last, 
but  still  quite  numerous.  The  specimens  were  procured  at  Ticul,  and 
some  were  afterward  shot  near  Iturbide,  The  third  species  was  not  seen 
in  the  wild  state,  the  only  specimen  procured  being  given  to  Dr.  Cabot, 
alive,  by  the  padre  Curillo,  of  Ticul.  It  is  the  Psittacus  Macao  (Ind. 
Om.,  vol.  i,,  p.  82),  red  and  blue  macaw  (Gen.  Syn.,  i.,  199). 

Of  the  genus  Ramphastos  one  specimen  was  procured,  the  yellow- 
breasted  toucan  (Gen.  Syn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  326),  Ramphastos  Tucanus  (Ind. 
Orn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  136).  This  specimen  does  not  agree  with  the  description  in 
Latham,  but  is  the  same  as  the  one  described  by  Mr.  Edwards  from  a  liv- 
ing specimen  in  Lord  Spencer's  collection.  It  was  procured  at  Uxmal  on 
the  day  when  Dr.  Cabot  went  down  to  the  hacienda  to  operate  on  an  Indian's 
leg.  Two  or  three  diiferent  species  were  afterward  seen  at  Macoba,  but 
Dr.  C.  did  not  succeed  in  killing  any  of  them. 

Of  the  genus  Momotus  were  obtained  two  species :  the  first,  the  common 
Brazilian  or  blue-headed  motmot;  this  was  quite  common  in  Yucatan,  but 
not  so  common  as  the  other,  as  to  which  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  has  been 
described.  It  is  about  the  same  length  as  the  blue-headed,  but  the  tail  is 
longer  in  proportion  to  the  body.  The  markings  on  the  plumage  are  very 
different  from  those  of  the  Brazilian;  there  is  a  black  stripe  extending 
down  from  the  chin  to  the  middle  of  the  breast,  bordered  on  each  side  with 
light  blue ;  a  broad,  light  blue,  almost  white,  stripe  extends  over  the  eye 
from  the  base  of  the  bill  almost  to  the  hind  head.  The  general  colour  is  a 
sort  of  greenish  bay ;  primaries  and  tail  light  green,  tipped  with  black ;  the 
two  central  feathers  of  the  tail  much  longer  than  in  the  Brazilian,  having 
the  shaft  bare  to  a  much  greater  degree,  and  the  feather  at  the  tip  is  bright 
pale  green,  tipped  broadly  with  black. 

Of  the  genus  Crotophaga  one  species  was  procured,  the  lesser  ani  (Cro- 
tophagi  Ani.  Ind.  Orn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  448),  These  were  very  abundant  in  all 
parts  of  the  country. 

Of  the  genus  Oriolus,  including  under  this  denomination  Icterus  and 
Cassicus,  were  procured  five  species,  one  of  which  is  supposed  to  be  new, 
three  doubtful,  and  one  known.  The  male  of  the  new  species  is  nine  inch- 
es and  a  half  long;  head,  neck,  cheeks,  breast,  belly,  rump,  tertiaries,  and 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  outer  tail  feathers  and  the  lower  part  of  the 
third,  and  occasionally  a  stripe  on  the  fourth,  bright  chrome  yellow ;  face, 
throat,  primaries,  secondaries,  back,  and  four,  and  sometimes  six  tail 
feathers,  black ;  legs  bluish ;  bill  black,  except  the  base  of  lower  mandible, 
which  is  bluish ;  sings  finely.  Female  eight  inches  and  seventh  eighths 
long;  marked  like  the  male,  but  not  so  brilliant;  irides  hazel.  One  of  the 
doubtful  comes  very  near  to  Latham's  description  of  the  lesser  Bonana  bird 


472 


APPENDIX. 


(Oriolus  Xanthomus,  Ind.  Om.,  vol.  i.,  p.  181),  but  is  an  Icterus,  and  differs 
in  some  particulars  of  plumage.  Another  of  the  doubtful  resembles  closely 
the  black  oriole,  and  another  the  black  cassican,  but  is  smaller.  The 
known  species  is  the  St.  Domingo  oriole  (Oriolus  Dominicensis.  Ind. 
Orn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  182).  Two  specimens  of  this  bird  were  procured,  being  the 
only  two  that  were  seen. 

Of  the  genus  Cuculus,  including  Polophilus,  were  procured  two  species. 
One  resembles  somewhat  the  bird  described  by  Latham  as  the  variegated 
coucal  (Polophilus  Variegatus) ;  the  other  the  Cayenne  cuckoo  (Cuculus 
Cayanus.  Ind.  Om.,  vol.  i.,  p.  221).  These  were  both  quite  abundant 
throughout  the  country. 

Of  the  genus  Picus  were  procured  three  species,  two  of  which  are  per- 
haps new.  One  of  these  resembles  the  little  woodpecker  of  Europe  (Picus 
Minor)  very  closely.  The  other  resembles  Latham's  description  of  the 
Brazilian  woodpecker  (Picus  Braziliensis).  The  known  one  is  the  linea- 
ted  woodpecker  (Picus  Lineatus.    Ind.  Orn.,  vol.  i.,  p.  226). 

Of  the  genus  Certhia  were  obtained  two  species,  of  one  of  which  no  de- 
scription has  been  found,  though  Dr.  Cabot  was  under  the  impression  that 
he  had  seen  specimens  of  it  in  some  of  the  cabinets  of  Europe.  It  is  three 
inches  and  seven  eighths  long ;  top  of  head,  neck,  and  back,  dark  brown, 
each  feather  having  a  light,  buff-coloured,  pear-shaped  mark  in  the  centre ; 
chin  light  buff  colour ;  breast  and  belly  light  brown,  each  feather  having 
also  a  light  buff-coloured  mark  down  the  centre;  primaries,  secondaries, 
tertiaries,  and  tail  dun-coloured  ;  bill  one  inch  and  three  eighths  along 
the  ridge,  and  one  inch  and  five  eighths  along  the  gap,  bent  in  its  whole 
length,  and  horn-coloured.  They  were  not  numerous.  The  other  species 
is  the  yellow-bellied  nectarinia  (Nectarinia  Flaveola.  Vieill.,  Ois.  Dor. 
Certh.,  plate  51,  p.  102).  They  were  quite  numerous  at  Cozumel,  where 
two  specimens  were  procured.  They  were  not  seen  in  any  other  part  of 
the  country. 

Of  the  genus  Trochilus  were  procured  two  or  three  species,  one  of  which 
is  undescribed ;  another  is  probably  the  young  of  the  same,  and  one  is  de- 
scribed. The  undescribed,  male,  is  four  inches  long;  bill  six  eighths  of  an 
inch,  yellowish,  tipped  with  black ;  upper  parts  of  head  and  back  dull 
green ;  throat  and  upper  part  of  breast  bright  emerald  green  in  scales,  with 
metallic  lustre;  lower  part  of  breast,  belly,  and  tail  dun  or  bay  colour;  the 
feathers  of  the  tail  fringed  and  tipped  with  black ;  primaries  dark  brown, 
with  some  purplish  reflections.  The  four  middle  tail  feathers  have  green- 
ish reflections  on  them.  The  female  is  rather  less,  and  wants  the  bright 
emerald  throat,  the  whole  under  parts  being  bay-coloured;  the  male  has 
some  white  about  the  thighs.  The  known  species  is  the  Ourissia  hum- 
ming-bird (Trochilus  Maugeri.  Lesson.). 

Of  the  genus  Turdus  were  procured  two  species,  thought  to  be  new. 
One  agrees  very  nearly  with  Le  Merle  de  Paraguai,  or  Calandra,  as  do- 


APPENDIX. 


473 


scribed  in  Vieillot,  but  it  wants  the  white  on  the  wings.  The  other  is  a 
good  deal  like  the  TurJus  Plumbeus,  as  described  by  the  same  author. 
The  first  is  quite  common  throughout  Yucatan,  but  the  second  is  rather 
rare. 

Of  the  genus  Loxia  were  obtained  four  species,  three  of  which  are  in 
immature  plumage,  and  cannot,  therefore,  be  placed  with  certainty.  The 
other  does  not  appear  to  have  been  described,  though  there  are  some  de- 
scriptions which  come  near  it.  The  male  is  nearly  ten  inches  long;  head 
and  chin,  extending  down  the  sides  of  the  neck,  and  in  a  crescent  across 
the  upper  part  of  the  breast,  black ;  cheeks  very  dark  steel  gray ;  a  white 
line  extending  from  the  bill  over  the  eye  almost  to  the  hind  head ;  hind  head, 
back,  secondaries,  outer  edge  of  the  primaries,  yellow  olive;  also  the  tail; 
the  shafts  of  the  feathers  are  black;  part  of  the  chin  and  throat  pure  white  5 
breast,  belly,  and  thighs  cinereous ;  vent,  and  under  the  tail  coverts,  light 
bay ;  bill  quite  stout,  nearly  an  inch  long,  and  black ;  the  female  is  about 
nine  inches  long,  having  dark  cinereous  browTi  in  place  of  the  olive ;  the 
other  markings  much  the  same  as  the  male,  but  not  so  vivid.  They  are 
very  common  throughout  Yucatan,  and  said  to  be  very  destructive  in  the 
fields  and  gardens :  called  by  the  Indians  Isapin. 

Of  the  genus  Emberiza  one  was  procured,  in  immature  plumage ;  prob- 
ably the  painted  bunting. 

Of  the  genus  Pipra  one :  the  blue  and  yellow  manakin,  not  common  in 
Yucatan. 

Of  the  genus  Tanagra  were  procured  two  species,  one  of  which  is  the 
red-crested  tanager  of  Latham.  But  one  pair  was  seen.  The  other  is  be- 
lieved to  be  undescribed.  The  specimen  was  a  male,  six  inches  and  a 
quarter  long ;  bill  inflated,  and  strongly  toothed;  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
upper  mandible,  six  eighths  of  an  inch  along  the  gap,  top  of  the  head, 
wings,  and  tail,  of  a  deep  raspberry,  approaching  maroon  colour;  back 
cinereous,  tinged  with  red;  chin  and  throat  bright  rose  colour;  breast  and 
belly  light  cinereous ;  vent  and  under  tail  coverts  light  rosy  red. 

Of  the  genus  Fringilla  was  procured  one  species,  believed  to  be  de- 
scribed in  Latham  as  the  cinereous  finch  (Fringilla  Cinerea) ;  they  were 
quite  common  about  Merida  in  the  latter  part  of  May. 

Of  the  genus  Lanius  three  species  were  obtained,  all  of  which  have  been 
described.  They  are  the  Cayenne  shrike  (L.  Cayanus.  Ind.  Orn.,  vol.  i., 
p.  80),  the  rusty  shrike  (L,  Rubiginosus),  and  the  gray-headed  shrike 
(Tanagra  Guianensis.  Ind.  Om.,  vol.  i.,  p.  427),  more  properly  the  Lanius 
G.  This  bird  sings  quite  prettily,  and  is  rather  common  in  Yucatan. 
The  other  two  were  rarer,  especially  the  second. 

Of  the  genus  Muscicapa  were  obtained  five  species,  four  of  which  have 
been  described.  The  specimen  procured  of  the  fifth  was  a  male.  It  is  six 
inches  and  a  half  long ;  bill  one  inch  along  the  gap  quite  stout  and  broad ; 
top  of  the  head  and  nape  black ;  back,  wings,  and  tail  very  dark,  slaty 

Vol.  II.— O  0  o 


474 


APPENDIX. 


brown ;  breast,  belly,  cheeks,  and  chin  light  cinereous ;  throat  and  upper 
part  of  the  breast  bright  rose  colour;  legs  black.  This  was  the  only  spe- 
cimen seen  in  the  country.  The  others  were  Muscicapa  Coronata  (round- 
crested  flycatcher.  Shaw,  vol.  v.,  pi.  13).  This  is  quite  common  through- 
out Yucatan.  Muscicapa  Sulphuratus,  not  rare ;  M.  Barbata,  quite  com- 
mon ;  M.  Ferox,  very  common. 

Of  the  genus  Sylvia  one  was  obtained,  in  young  plumage,  and,  therefore, 
uncertain  whether  new  or  not. 

Of  the  genus  Caprimulgus  one  species  was  obtained ;  the  specimen  so 
poor  that  nothing  can  be  made  of  it. 

Of  the  genus  Columba  were  procured  two  species,  one  of  which  is  in 
such  imperfect  plumage  that  its  character  cannot  be  made  out.  The  other 
agrees  very  nearly  with  the  blue  pigeon  (Columba  Cserulea.  Ind.  Om., 
vol.  ii.,  p.  601).    Both  are  common  in  Yucatan. 

Of  the  genus  Meleagris  was  procured  one  species  (Meleagris  Ocellata), 
the  ocellated  turkey,  Cuv.  This  most  magnificent  bird  is  common  through- 
out Yucatan. 

Of  the  genus  Penelope  were  procured  two  species ;  one  the  crested  guan 
(P.  Crestata.  Ind.  Orn.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  619).  These  are  called  kosh  by  the  na- 
tives; the  only  specimen  seen  was  given  to  Dr.  Cabot  by  the  brother  of  the 
padrecito  at  Ticul,  and  was  still  alive  in  November,  1842.  The  other  is 
the  Penelope,  or  Phasianus  Paragua  (Ind.  Om.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  632).  They 
are  common  in  all  parts  of  Yucatan,  where  they  are  called  chachalacha, 
from  the  noise  they  make,  which  is  perfectly  astounding,  and  also  bach  by 
the  Indians.  They  have  a  most  remarkable  arrangement  of  the  trachea, 
which  passes  down  on  the  external  surface  of  the  muscles,  between  them 
and  the  skin,  in  a  long  loop  as  low  as  the  pubis,  and  then  passes  up  on  the 
other  side,  and  enters  the  thorax. 

Of  the  genus  Crax  two  species  were  obtained ;  the  red  curassow  (Crax 
Rubra,  Lin.,  vol.  i.,  p.  270),  and  C.  Globicera  (globose  curassow).  They 
are  found  throughout  the  country,  and  are  called  by  the  natives  kambool. 

Of  the  genus  Tinamus  one  species  was  obtained,  the  variegated  tina- 
mou  (T.  Variegatus).  They  are  quite  common  throughout  Yucatan, 
where  they  are  called  by  the  natives  partridges.  They  are  kept  tame  in 
many  of  the  houses,  being  very  useful  in  destroying  scorpions,  &c. 

Of  the  genus  Ortyx  one  species  was  obtained,  which,  as  far  as  the  plu- 
mage and  size  go,  is  undescribed,  but  it  has  the  same  note,  habits,  &c.,  as 
our  quail  or  partridge.  It  is  smaller ;  the  throat  of  the  male  is  jet  black, 
and  most  of  the  markings  are  different,  though  having  a  general  resem- 
blance to  the  Ortyx  or  Perdix  Virginianus.  They  are  very  numerous  in 
aU  parts  of  Yucatan. 

Of  the  genus  Cancroma  one  specimen  was  procured,  the  cinereous  boat- 
bill,  which  was  killed  at  the  senote  at  Chichen. 

Of  the  genus  Jacana  also  one  species  was  obtained,  the  variable  jacana 


APPENDIX. 


475 


(Parra  or  Jacana  Variabilis.  Ind.  Om.,  vol.  i.,  p.  763),  It  was  killed  at 
Uxmal,  at  one  of  the  small  aguadas,  and  was  the  only  one  seen  in  the 
country. 

Of  the  genus  Gallinula  Dr.  Cabot  procured  two  species,  the  Cayenne 
gallinule  (Gr.  Cayanensis,  Ind,  Orn,,  vol.  ii.,  p.  767)  and  the  black-bellied 
gallinule  (G.  Ruficollis.    Ind.  Orn,,  vol,  ii.,  p,  767), 

Of  the  long-billed  wren  one  specimen  only  was  seen.  The  violet-headed 
trogon  was  more  common,  several  having  been  procured  in  different  places. 

Besides  the  birds  enumerated  above,  the  following  list  comprises  those 
which  were  procured  in  Yucatan,  and  which  are  found  also  in  the  United 
States,  and  have  been  well  described  by  different  naturalists. 


Birds  observed  in  Yucatan  during  the  winter  of  184:1  ^  '2,  between  the  months  of 
October  and  June,  which  are  also  found  in  the  United  States,  and  have  been 
figured  and  described  by  Wilson,  Audubon,  Bonaparte,  and  Nuttall. 


Cathartes  Jota,  all  parts, 
Cathartes  Papa,  at  Labphak. 
Cathartes  Aura,  all  parts ;  less  nu- 
merous than  the  C.  Jota. 
Aquila  (7)  Caracara,  all  parts. 
Falco  Pennsylvanicus. 
Falco  Haliaetos. 
Falco  Cyaneus. 
Falco  Sparverius. 
Icterus  Spurius. 
duiscalus  Major, 
CLuiscalus  Versicolor. 
Muscicapa  Crinita. 
Muscicapa  Virens, 
Muscicapa  Atra. 
Muscicapa  Ruticilla. 
Muscicapa  Verticatis,  (?) 
Turdus  Polyglottus, 
Turdiis  Noveboracensis. 
Turdus  Lividus,  Felisox. 
Sylvia  Virens. 
Sylvia  Mitrata. 
Sylvia  Trichas. 
Sylvia  Protonotarius. 
Sylvia  Maculosa.  C?) 
Sylvia  Estiva. 
Sylvia  Americana. 
Sylvia  Coronata. 


Tanagra  ^Estiva. 
Tanagra  Rubra, 
Fringilla  Ludoviciana. 
Fringilla  Ciris. 
Fringilla  Cyanea. 
Loxia  Ccerulea. 
Loxia  Cardinalis. 
Picus  Carolinensis. 
Trochilus  Colubris. 
Trochilus  Mango. 
Alcedo  Alcyon. 
Hirundo  Rufa. 
Hirundo  Lunifrons,  (1) 
Hirundo  Riparia, 
Cypselus  Pelasgius. 
Caprimulgus  Carolinensis. 
Columba  Passerina, 
Columba  Leucocephala. 
Columba  Zenaida. 
Calidris  Arenaria, 
Himantopus  Nigricollis. 
Haematopus  Ostralagus. 
Charadrius  Melodus. 
Charadrius  Wilsonius.  (?) 
Charadrius  Semipalmatus.  (?) 
Charadrius  Helveticus. 
Strepsilus  Interpres, 
Ardea  Herodias. 


476 


APPENDIX. 


Ardea  Rufescens. 
Ardea  Egretta. 
Ardea  Candidissima. 
Ardea  Ludoviciana.  (?) 
Ardea  Nycticorax. 
Ardea  Coerulea. 
Ardea  Lentiginosa. 
Ardea  Virescens, 
Ardea  Exilis. 
Aramus  Scolopaceus. 
Phcenicopterus  Ruber. 
Platalea  Ajaja. 
Ibis  Alba. 

Numenius  Longirostris. 
Tringa  Wilsonii. 
Tringa  Semipalmata. 
Totanus  Semipalmatus. 
Totanus  Vociferus. 
Totanus  Flavipes. 
Totanus  Cbloropygius. 
Totanus  Macularius. 


Totanus  Bartramius. 
Limosa  Fedoa. 
Scolopax  Grisea, 
Scolopax  Wilsonii. 
Gallinula  Martinica. 
Podiceps  Minor. 
Sterna  Cay  ana. 
Sterna  Boysii. 
Larus  Atricilla. 
Thalassidroma  Wilsonii. 
Anas  Boschas. 
Anas  Strepera. 
Anas  Acuta. 
Anas  Americana. 
Anas  Discors. 
Pelecanus  Onocrotalus. 
Phalacrocorax  Carbo. 
Phalacrocorax  Graculus. 
Trachypetes  Aquilus. 
Phaeton  jEthereus.  (7) 


COMMUNICATION  FROM  MR.  SCHOOLCRAFT. 
THE  RED  HAND. 

The  figure  of  the  human  hand  is  used  by  the  North  American  Indians  to 
denote  supplication  to  the  Deity  or  Great  Spirit ;  and  it  stands  in  the  system 
of  picture  wTiting  as  the  symbol  for  strength,  power,  or  mastery,  thus  de- 
rived. In  a  great  number  of  instances  which  I  have  met  with  of  its  being 
employed,  both  in  the  ceremonial  observances  of  their  dances  and  in  their 
pictorial  records,  I  do  not  recollect  a  single  one  in  which  this  sacred  charac- 
ter is  not  assigned  to  it.  Their  priests  are  usually  drawn  with  outstretched 
and  uplifted  hands.  Sometimes  one  hand  and  one  arm,  but  more  commonly 
both  are  uplifted.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  those  among  them  who  profess  the 
arts  of  medicine,  magic,  and  prophecy  (the  three  are  sometimes  united  and 
sometimes  not)  to  draw  or  depict  a  series  of  representative  or  symbolical  fig- 
ures on  bark,  skins  of  animals,  or  even  tabular  pieces  of  wood,  which  are  a 
kind  of  notation,  and  the  characters  are  intended  to  aid  the  memory  in  singing 
the  sacred  songs  and  choruses.  When  the  inscriptions  are  found  to  be  on 
wood,  as  they  often  are  in  the  region  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  sources  of 
the  Mississippi,  they  have  been  sometimes  called  "music  boards."  I  in- 
duced a  noted  meta,  or  priest,  to  part  with  one  of  these  figured  boards,  many 
years  ago,  and  afterward  obtained  impressions  from  it  in  this  city  by  passing 


APPENDIX. 


477 


it  through  Mr.  Maverick's  rolling  press.  It  was  covered  with  figures  on  both 
sides,  one  side  containing  forty  principal  figures  ;  six  embrace  the  symbol 
of  the  uplifted  hand,  four  of  which  had  also  the  arm,  but  no  other  part  of  the 
body,  attached.  Their  import,  which  the  man  also  imparted  to  me,  is  given 
in  the  general  remark  above.  On  the  reverse  of  this  board,  consisting  of 
thirty  eight  characters,  nine  embrace  the  uplifted  hand,  in  one  case  from  a 
headless  trunk,  but  in  the  eight  others  connected  with  the  whole  frame. 

The  design  of  the  hand  is  uniformly  the  same  with  our  tribes,  whether  it 
be  used  disjunctively  or  alone,  or  connected  with  the  arm  alone,  or  with  the 
whole  body.  In  the  latter  cases  it  is  a  compound  symbol,  and  reveals 
some  farther  particular  or  associated  idea  of  the  action.  The  former  is  the 
most  mysterious  use  of  it,  precisely  because  there  are  no  accessories  to 
help  out  the  meaning,  and  it  is,  I  think,  in  such  isolated  cases,  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  general  sign  of  devotion. 

In  the  course  of  many  years' residence  on  the  frontiers,  including  various 
journeyings  among  the  tribes,  I  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  remark 
the  use  of  the  hand  alone  as  a  symbol,  but  it  has  generally  been  a  sym- 
bol applied  to  the  naked  body  after  its  preparation  and  decoration  for  sa- 
cred or  festive  dances.  And  the  fact  deserves  farther  consideration,  from 
these  preparations  being  generally  made  in  the  arcanum  of  the  med- 
icine, or  secret  lodge,  or  some  other  private  place,  and  with  all  the  skill  of 
the  priest's,  the  medicine  man's,  or  the  juggler's  art.  The  mode  of  apply- 
ing it  in  these  cases  is  by  smearing  the  hand  of  the  operator  with  white  or 
coloured  clay,  and  impressing  it  on  the  breast,  the  shoulder,  or  other  part 
of  the  body.  The  idea  is  thus  conveyed,  that  a  secret  influence,  a  charm, 
a  mystic  power  is  given  to  the  dancer,  arising  from  his  sanctity  or  his  pro- 
ficiency in  the  occult  arts.  This  use  of  the  hand  is  not  confined  to  a  single 
tribe  or  people.  I  have  noticed  it  alike  among  the  Dacotahs,  the  Winneba- 
goes,  and  other  Western  tribes,  as  among  the  numerous  branches  of  the 
red  race  still  located  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  above  the  latitude  of 
42°,  who  speak  dialects  of  the  Algonquin  language. 

A  single  additional  fact  appears  to  me  to  be  pertinent  to  your  inquiry. 
In  an  excursion  which  I  made  in  the  year  1831  into  the  more  unfrequented 
and  interior  parts  of  the  Chippewa  country,  lying  between  the  group  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles'  Islands  in  Lake  Superior  and  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  I 
came  to  a  curious  edifice,  situated  in  the  edge  of  the  forest,  on  the  elevated 
banks  of  a  fine  lake,  which  was  exclusively  used  as  the  village  temple.  It 
was  built  of  stout  posts,  describing  a  circle,  firmly  and  well  sheathed  with 
thick  bark,  fastened  on  transverse  pieces.  It  constituted  a  peculiarity  in 
this  structure  that  there  was  a  circular  building  within,  or,  rather,  it  was 
arranged  after  the  manner  of  the  whorls  of  a  sea-shell,  so  that  a  person 
could,  as  it  were,  involve  himself  in  a  labyiinth.  It  had  a  single  door,  sub- 
ject to  the  entrance  of  the  priest  only.  As  this  person  was  the  political 
cliief  of  the  band,  and  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intellect,  he  appeared 


478 


APPENDIX. 


to  have  adopted  this  mode  of  exhibiting  his  skill  and  securing  and  extend- 
ing his  power.  He  permitted  me  to  inspect  the  building.  Drums,  rattles, 
and  other  insignia  of  the  priest's  art,  were  hung  up  on  the  wall.  Heads  of 
men  were  rudely  carved  or  inscribed,  and  numerous  marks  of  the  hand,  as 
in  the  case  of  naked  dancers,  were  impressed  on  the  involutions  of  the  in- 
ner walls. 

I  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  human  hand  denotes  strength,  or  pow- 
er, or  mastery  arising  from  devotional  acts.  The  want  or  absence  of  the 
hand  or  arm,  therefore,  in  these  symbolical  figures,  should  imply  impotence, 
weakness,  or  cowardice,  arising  from  fright,  subjugation,  or  other  causes ; 
and  such  is  found  to  be  the  import  of  the  armless  figure  of  the  human  body 
in  two  of  the  symbols  of  the  ancient  hieroglyphic  inscription  on  the  Asso- 
net,  or  Dighton  Rock,  as  explained  by  the  well-known  American  chief 
Chingerauk. 


THE  END. 


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